Lima Public Library
by Mad-like
Summary: Where was Blaine when Kurt and Rachel went to Dayton for that mixer?  That whole setup reminded me of the way they dumped Mercedes to go sing on the set of Wicked.
1. Lima Public Library

The Lima Public Library. The last place Blaine expected to spend the first night of his first day at McKinley High. He'd expected to be spending time with Kurt, the reason he transferred to McKinley in the first place. But his AP English class had a paper due tomorrow, the school library didn't have a copy of Huckleberry Finn on the shelf, and Kurt didn't seem at all interested in keeping him company at the town library. Huckleberry Finn was banned. What kind of school bans books? If Mark Twain wanted to say 'enslaved person of African descent' he would have written it that way. Of course, maybe if the book were full of gay slurs he'd see it differently.

So here he was, at the library, doing research so he could doctor a paper he'd written last year and hand it in tomorrow morning. Kurt "I can't live without you" Hummel was off a a vague and mysterious mission, Blaine had no idea when he'd be back.

"Hey, Blaine!" It was Kurt's friend Mercedes. She sat down beside him. "What brings you here on a Thursday night?"

"Huckleberry Finn. I'm surprised the school library doesn't have it."

"Banned thanks to a campaign by Ms. Rachel Berry. Personally, I'd rather read that kind of language in a book than have to hear it directed at me in real life. That's something I'd like to see banned. I did my paper on The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison – not HG Wells." She rolled her eyes as if she'd explained the difference between the two writers too many times.

"So why are you here?"

"Research. They might as well convert the school library to a Starbucks and subscribe to People Magazine if they're not going to keep books there." She was holding a stack of art books. "Can't have somebody stumble across the occasional nude, can we?"

"Art books? I thought you were going to be a singer."

"People have expectations. Kind of the theme of Invisible Man, tell people what they expect to hear and they stop paying attention, you're invisible in the sense nobody notices you. Not in the transparent sense. So, I can't convince my teacher to give me a solo in Lima, Ohio. What's the odds of my getting a Grammy? But if I tell people I want a Grammy they just take the information and move on. Big black girl plus singer equals Grammy dreams. Just what they expected to hear. Blaine, there are two types of people in the world-"

"Those who believe there are two types of people in the world and those that don't?"

She looked at him, puzzled, and then laughed. "I didn't know you were funny."

"Well, why wouldn't I be?" he said laughing.

"You always looked so serious, before. Maybe it was the uniform." He definitely didn't look serious now, what with the red skinny jeans and bow-tie he was currently wearing.

"Well, back in Dalton people found me hilarious." he frowned. They all thought it quite the joke, that he would leave Dalton for McKinley. Wes, his roommate, didn't believe Blaine was serious until right before he left. Wes sat on his side of their shared room and stared in silence at Blaine as he packed his stuff, the things he'd just unpacked three days earlier. "Damn it, Blaine!" That was the last thing Wes said before he walked out, slamming the door behind him. "Damn it, Blaine!" That's all.

"People laughed at you at Dalton?" Mercedes asked, interrupting the memory. "I didn't think that was allowed, I thought that was the whole point of Kurt going there."

"No, that's not allowed there. I just thought about how much I miss my friends there."

"The Warblers? You'll miss singing with them?"

"No, not so much that. I mean not just the singing. We were friends. Most of us lived there and we spent so much time together. All day, all night, most weekends. McKinley is something to get used to."

"I guess." she said rearranging her books. "So why did you switch schools, if there wasn't a problem at Dalton?"

"Kurt." he said beaming. "I wanted to be with him."

Mercedes looked at him as if that was either the most romantic, or maybe the most pathetic, thing she had ever heard. "If that's the case, why didn't you go on the field trip to Dayton?"

"What's in Dayton?"

"Some workshop for a special theater school, or something like that. I don't particularly care about it so I only weaseled the information out of Big Red, this is Ms. Pillsbury, to stay in practice. Prying information out of people is a valuable skill. She's like the worst guidance counselor ever, pick a different one if you get the chance. Why point somebody to a school that only takes 20 students a year? Might as well tell them to aim for a Grammy, they give out more of those. Now take a commercial photographer, there's always a wedding or bar mitzvah or something going on. See, here's-"

"Back up a minute. What's the deal with Dayton?"

"I guess Kurt didn't have time to tell you about it. Okay. I'm standing by my locker and they, that is Kurt and Rachel, come out of Ms. Pillsbury's office yakking about Dayton and what a wonderful opportunity it is. They didn't notice me, 'cause I'm invisible to them most of the time, so I went in and asked Ms. Pillsbury about wonderful opportunities and why they aren't being offered to me. She gave me the brochure..." she dug a crumpled brochure from her purse and handed it to Blaine "and said they only let in 20 students, as if I'd never be good enough. I'm thinking of applying out of spite."

Blaine stared at the brochure. So that's where Kurt "gotta be with you 24/7" Hummel went. "I guess this must be how you felt when you heard about the Gershwin Theater."

"Gershwin as in George and Ira? What about 'em?"

"The Gershwin Theater is the place where they sang on the set from Wicked." He noticed her puzzled expression. "When you were in New York for Nationals? They didn't tell you about that? I thought you and Kurt were close."

"We used to be, not so much anymore. You know the math puzzle where two trains leave the station, one headed east at 60 mph and one headed 10 degrees north of east at 90 mph and how far apart are they two hours later? That's Kurt and me, we're taking separate trains out of Ohio." She frowned and then laughed. "Well, that makes more sense than my theory of what they'd been doing when they showed up at lunchtime, smirking. Those dogs!"

"What was your theory?"

"Never mind. Not important."

"No, I really want to hear it." He smiled his most disarming smile.

"I asked Kurt where they'd been. He said nowhere, doing nothing. Usually, when two people say they've been nowhere, doing nothing it means they've been doing something, if you know what I mean."

"Kurt's gay."

"Ever watch Torchwood?"

"Never heard of it."

"Okay, it's on BBC America. It's about aliens and whatever. There was this kid who used to go here last year, Sam. I used to hang out with him before he moved." She seemed sad about him moving. "Anyway Sam liked to watch that show. So, in this show, there were a couple of cases where a previously straight person fell in love with someone of the same gender. The way it was written, you could see how it could happen. Same thing could happen the other way."

"I don't think Kurt and Rachel are making out."

"Probably not. It's just sometimes I wonder if it's as clearcut as gay on one side of the room, straight on the other. I have this friend who claims to be gay, but he says he'd sleep with the right girl. He says it's the personality, not the plumbing, that you fall in love with. In the long run you're stuck with the personality, aren't you? I mean, half the world's got the right plumbing."

"I thought Kurt was the only gay kid at McKinley."

"There's 1000 kids at McKinley. Statistically speaking there's got to be at least 100 gay kids. If they know they're gay, and who else knows, that's the question. I only know of three, four counting you, six counting girls."

"The library will be closing at 8:30" came the loudspeaker announcement.

"Damn, I'm late!" Mercedes jumped up and picked up her books. "Hey, want some coffee and music? Kurt won't be back from Dayton for hours."

The coffeehouse, McKenna's, was a block away from the library and the couple working behind the counter recognized Mercedes. The girl was tall with light brown skin and curly brown hair. The boy was about the same height, Asian with long wavy black hair.

"Late." the girl said, half-smiling.

"Nice to see you, too." Mercedes answered.

"Alice, Tim, meet Blaine. He's new at McKinley."

"Hey!" Tim said. "You're Kurt's friend, right? I saw you guys in the hallway. You might want to keep a lid on that. Or if you can't control yourselves try the light booth in the auditorium." Alice glared at him. "Or so I've been told."

"You are so full of shit." she said to Tim. "Taste this and tell him what he did wrong." Alice said handing them a cupcake cut in half.

Mercedes tasted her half, "Too sweet, you don't need the icing, or glaze, or whatever's on top."

"She's right about the sweetness. Needs chili or something spicy like that, or maybe ginger. Ginger would be good. Ever had candied ginger? It's sweet with a bite."

"Chili or ginger." Tim said writing it down. "Thanks for the constructive criticism. Much more helpful than 'this bites'. I'll look into that."

A tall white man with long blonde hair came from the kitchen behind the bar. "Ready pumpkin?" He asked Alice, kissing her on the forehead.

"Dad! Not in public."

"I think it's sweet, Mr. McKenna, that she's your widdle pumpkin."

"Well, thank you Tim. I hear you're making you singing debut tonight."

"Maybe." he said slowly.

"Sure you are." Alice said, grinning at his discomfort. "You don't want to disappoint my dad. Since you two agree on so much."

"And Mercedes, you're making a debut of sorts too?" Mr. McKenna asked her.

"Yes, I finally got a decent guitar teacher." Tim smiled and Alice scowled. "Mr. McKenna, Blaine Anderson. Blaine's new at school. He's going to sing with me." She winked at Blaine.

"Well, I'm looking forward to hearing all of you."

Blackbird. Tim made his singing debut and Mercedes made her playing debut with a duet of Blackbird. The song made him miss Kurt even more but then he concentrated on what he was hearing. Tim was a good singer, not great but really good. He'd have to ask him why he wasn't in Glee club. The amazing thing was Mercedes. The only other time he'd heard her sing she was singing alone, giving a powerful rendition of an Aretha Franklin song. Tim's voice wasn't nearly as strong as hers so tonight she had toned down at match his. That was something most performers don't do, try to complement instead of overwhelm, their partner. He was guiding her over the tricky guitar patches, she led him through the vocals. It was a very skillful performance on both their parts. Then he remembered Kurt singing Blackbird. That had been beautiful, and now it seemed Kurt was already plotting a future without him.

FF_2947886_ - Page 7 of 7 - Word Count: 2037


	2. But Not For Me

"Mr. Schuester, may I speak to you for a few minutes?" Mercedes asked after practice. "Alone." she said loudly enough for Rachel, who was lurking near the piano, to hear.

"Yes, have a seat."

"Mr. Schuester," she started while sitting down. "Now that Santana and Quinn are no longer members what are the odds that I'll be singing a lead in competition?"

"Mercedes, you know I love your voice, but..."

"But what?" she asked when he paused. No way was she letting him off easy.

"You're too R&B to carry a lead. That's not what we do. This year we're going more in the show-tune direction."

"And I haven't done an excellent job with everything you've assigned me? Didn't I match Rachel on "Take Me or Leave Me"? Wasn't "Dancing Queen" with Santana good?"

"Yes, but.."

"So the problem is strictly my voice and the material I'm able to cover?" She asked standing up. She'd heard enough.

"Yes, I'm sorry." her teacher said.

* * *

><p>"Blaine, can you do me a favor?" Mercedes asked. Blaine was sitting with Santana in the cafeteria. She looked like she was just about to say something when Mercedes sat down. Kurt and Blaine had different lunch periods so it turned out he wasn't seeing nearly as much of Kurt as he'd hoped.<p>

"I'll talk to you later." Santana said, standing up.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something? I can talk to you later." Mercedes said, also standing up.

"No, it's fine. I'll talk to you in History." Santana said to Blaine.

"Okay, see you in History." He wondered what Santana was about to say. He'd find out soon enough. "Mercedes, what do you need?"

"Mr. Schue has a problem with me." She sat down again. "I don't know if it's my voice, my shade or my size. I want to do an experiment. If I get busted I'll say it's for a psychology class. You in?" She smiled mischievously. "Come on. It'll be fun."

* * *

><p>"Mr. Schuester, do you know Alice McKenna?" Blaine asked innocently. "She plays lead guitar in band? Light brown hair, kinda looks like Beyonce?"<p>

"Yes, Blaine. What about her?"

"Well, she wants to join the Glee club, but that would mean quitting band. She doesn't want to do that just to stand in the back row and sway to the music. She thinks Rachel automatically gets the leads but I told her she's wrong." Blaine tried to look sincere. "I said a girl with the right voice would get a lead. She's got a really pretty voice." He handed the teacher a zip drive. "She'd like to have you listen and tell her if she's lead material."

Later that night Mr. Schuester plugged the drive into his computer. A smooth, rich voice flowed from the speakers like a river of silk.

_They're writing songs of love, but not for me,_  
><em>A lucky star's above, but not for me,<em>  
><em>With love to lead the way,<em>  
><em>I found more clouds of grey,<em>  
><em>Than any Russian play could guarantee.<em>

_It all began so well, but what an end,_  
><em>This is the time a girl sure needs a friend,<em>  
><em>When every happy plot,<em>  
><em>Ends in a marriage knot,<em>  
><em>And there's no knot for me.<em>

_Although I can't dismiss,_  
><em>The memory of his kiss,<em>  
><em>I guess he's not for me.<em>

This girl was good, really good, as good as Rachel. Will would have never guessed it, she always stood there like she was bored to tears. She could play the guitar, no doubt about that, but when she wasn't playing her expression was of someone waiting for the next bus to Cleveland. Who knew she could sing like Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald's love child? And pretty, too. She'd look good standing next to Rachel. He wanted to see if she could perform in person, no point in going further if she suffered from stage fright.

* * *

><p>"Class, today we're auditioning a new member. Alice McKenna. Alice has been playing guitar for us during practice." The Glee club members stared at her as if they'd never seen her before. They'd never paid attention to any member of the band so no one noticed she was dressed differently. Normally she wore loose, comfortable clothing. She'd wear sweats to school if she was in a rush, so a lot of people though she was a jock. Today she was wearing tight jeans and a Hello Kitty tshirt. She actually had on lipstick today, well, colored lip gloss, but for Alice that was a lot.<p>

"Hey, everybody." she said smiling.

Kurt looked around for Mercedes, it was not like her to miss something like thing. Blaine was sitting back with his eyes closed, listening carefully like he always did. The girl started to sing.

_The night is bitter, _  
><em>The stars have lost their glitter, <em>  
><em>The winds grow colder,<em>  
><em> And suddenly you're older <em>  
><em>And all because of The man that got away. <em>  
><em>No more his eager call, <em>  
><em>The writing's on the wall, <em>  
><em>The dreams you dreamed have all <em>  
><em>Gone astray. <em>  
><em>The man that won you <em>  
><em>Has run off and undone you. <em>  
><em>That great beginning <em>  
><em>Has seen it's final inning, <em>  
><em>Don't know what happened <em>  
><em>It's all a crazy game.<em>

Judy Garland! Oh no, she's not going there. Kurt looked at Rachel. Rachel was frowning, this Alice was good. The changes in pace and volume, the loneliness, the longing. It was all there.

_No more that all-time thrill _  
><em>For you've been through the mill, <em>  
><em>And never a new love will <em>  
><em>Be the same. <em>  
><em>Good riddance, good-bye. <em>  
><em>Every trick of his you're on to - <em>  
><em>But fools will be fools and where's he gone to?<em>

She suddenly stopped singing. "Is that good enough?"

"That's excellent Alice. I think I'll go with a duet with you and Rachel this year."

"Oh, thank you very much!" she squealed and clapped her hands. "Can I finish? There's a big finish to this song."

"Yes, please." She started to sing again.

_The road gets rougher, _  
><em>It's lonelier and tougher. <em>  
><em>With hope you burn up, <em>  
><em>Tomorrow he may turn up. <em>  
><em>There's just no letup <em>  
><em>The livelong night and day.<em>

She swung open her arms for emphasis on "night and day". Maybe a little clumsy Kurt thought, because she knocked down the curtain behind her. Mercedes. Mercedes was standing behind the curtain singing.

Alice grinned at Mercedes and walked back to the band section. She picked up her guitar.

_Ever since this world began _  
><em>There is nothing sadder than <em>  
><em>A one-man woman <em>  
><em>Looking for the man that got away . . .<em>

"So I'm in, right Mr. Schuester?" Mercedes asked.

* * *

><p>"He said <em>Singing in the Rain<em> was his favorite movie. That's how it ends, that exact same setup. Who knew he'd throw a hissy fit?" Mercedes said, sitting on the bleachers of McKinley between Santana and Quinn. "Now, how do we get back in?"

* * *

><p>Judy Garland Song - writer - Movie (year)<p>

But Not for Me – George and Ira Gershwin- Girl Crazy (1943)

The Man That Got Away - Ira Gershwin/Harold Arlen - A Star Is Born (1954)

FF_2947886_ - Page 5 of 5 - Word Count: 1208


	3. Singing In The Rain

"Jones, I would have never picked you as the one to go out in a blaze of glory. Good job." Santana said.

"He said _Singing in the Rain_ was his favorite movie. That's how it ends, same setup. Should have seen it coming." Mercedes said, sitting on the bleachers of McKinley High between Santana and Quinn, watching Shane practice football plays."Now, how do we get back in?"

"Why do we want to get back in?" Quinn asked, flicking a cigarette but to the ground.

"That's a filthy habit, you know." Santana said.

"Look who's lecturing me on filthy habits." Quinn replied coldly.

Mercedes hadn't hung out with either girl very much. Well, Quinn had lived at her house for a couple of months but that was a lifetime ago. She got the impression there was a lot of history between Quinn and Santana. Mercedes wasn't interested in history right now. "Back to the subject of getting back into Glee club?"

"Back to the subject of why you want to do that." Quinn said. "I'm joining Shelby's club. She's a lot like coach Sylvester, only nicer. Like that's hard to do." she snickered, "But she's disciplined and organized. Maybe if we'd heard that damn song before Nationals we would have known what to do during that makeout session. Neither Shelby, or Sue, would have taken us to a competition with nothing prepared. Schuester's an ass."

"He's just suffering from 'lack of'." Santana stated. Quinn nodded knowingly.

"Lack of what?"

"Didn't farm boy teach you anything?" Santana asked in a mocking tone.

Mercedes thought about it for a moment. Ah. Damn, she missed Sam.

_Sam had been a huge disappointment to Mercedes. She'd stayed up nights cataloging what could go wrong. He was ashamed of her size, or her color. He was only interested in using her. She's listed all kinds of possible motives he had for betraying her. And he'd disappointed her by shooting down her every objection. If anything, he was embarrassed because she had more money than he did and usually paid for things. So they found free things to do. Festivals, museums, the park at sunset._

_Sam didn't care about the black/white thing or the heavy/thin thing. The first time they had been stared at on the street Sam reached over and squeezed her hand. "They're just staring because you don't see such a beautiful woman every day." Far from being embarrassed, he was proud to be with her. He would hug and kiss her in public, "The only person in this mall I give a damn about is you. Let's give them something to stare at." And in private! Yes, they had sex a few times before he had to leave town. If it had to end, leaving with his family is something Mercedes could understand. What else could he do?_

_If anything, Sam leaving town made her feel lonelier than she had before she started dating him. Everybody else in Glee club had somebody. They'd invite her along but she felt like an afterthought. She wanted somebody, and that's where Shane came in, even thought they didn't have much in common. Sam listened to her, Shane told her how things were going to be. Sam liked hearing her sing, Shane liked to watch music videos, especially the ones featuring half-naked women. Then he'd ask her to sing while he watched Rihanna grind.. _

_Mostly it's the talking she missed. That's what she liked about hanging out with Alice and Tim. Sam had taught her how to play the guitar, something free they did together. When Sam left she started taking lessons from Alice. That was a disaster, like taking tennis lessons from Venus Williams. Every lesson with her ended in a screaming match. Tim was a better fit and Alice was a better friend than a teacher. In two months they became better friends than any of the kids in Glee._

"From the look on your face I see you know what I'm taking about." Santana said. "He sure could use those trouty lips."

"Don't you ever call him that again!" Mercedes hissed. "How would you like it if somebody called you a...somebody called you outside of your name?"

"Jesus, it was just a joke."

"Not funny. And I'm not kidding."

"Fine!" Santana snapped.

Quinn looked at the two girls. She didn't remember Sam being anything worth fighting about. Then she looked over at the dark-haired woman pushing a stroller on the other side of the football field. Now that was something worth fighting about. Mercedes followed her gaze.

"Who's that?"

"Shelby. With Beth."

"Well lets go look!" she stood up. "I haven't seen her since, since that day."

"Mercedes, I'm trying to be discreet." Quinn said pulling her back down.

"Hell, she probably doesn't remember who I am. I'm going." She stood up again and jogged over to Shelby.

"Hello, what a cute baby!" Mercedes said. "What's her name?"

"Beth. And how are you Mercedes?"

"Oh, you remember me from the day Beth was born?"

"Yes, and also from hearing you sing. You have a beautiful voice, too bad it's not showcased more."

"Thank you." Mercedes looked at her, thinking. "Quinn mentioned you're starting a Glee club."

"Yes, I am. Sugar is sponsoring it. I promised Mr. Schuester I wouldn't poach, otherwise I'd offer you a spot."

"Turns out Mr. Schuester is no longer in need of my services." Mercedes tickled the baby. "Does she come to practice, too?"

"Beth loves music." Shelby smiled lovingly at the baby. "Don't you honey?"

She looked at Mercedes again. "You're welcome to stop by our practice anytime. No pressure, just to look and see."

* * *

><p>Third period, Tuesday and Thursday was a free period for both Kurt and Blaine. They always spent it together, as in Kurt, Blaine and Rachel. "<p>

So, what did you think of Mercedes' performance?" Blaine asked eagerly.

"It was good." Kurt said cautiously.

"Good," Rachel admitted. "But not Garland. The phrasing was all wrong. And her timing was off, just a little, I think. Maybe more Sarah Vaughan than Judy Garland."

"Oh really? It sounded exactly like Garland to me."

"You probably haven't heard it in a while." Kurt turned toward Rachel. "Blaine's more of a top 40 guy."

"No, I've been listening to it all week. I helped Mercedes with it." He beamed. "With the Warblers I coached guys all the time. It's one of the things-"

"How could you?" they both asked, shocked.

"How could I what?"

"How could you do that to us?" They were both angry and Blaine didn't understand why.

"What? I thought she was your friend."

"Yes, she's a friend." Kurt said.

"But this is a competition." Rachel added.

"And that overrides friendship?"

"Blaine, you don't understand." Kurt said patting his hand.

"You're right, I don't understand. The Glee club is so small but yet you guys waste time and effort tearing each other down, not building each other up. Why can't you be happy for your friend?"

"She got kicked out of the club. Does that make you happy?" Kurt asked.

"She didn't have anything to lose, she never gets to sing lead anyway. And it's less competition for Rachel. I guess you guys think that's a good thing."

"Blaine, can we talk about this later?" Kurt said softly.

"Sure, we can talk about it later. I've got to go to the library and do some research."

He stood up and left the room. Kurt didn't follow him.

* * *

><p>Sometimes Blaine thought about what he'd be doing if he were still at Dalton. History class was as boring there as it was here. On the other hand, he definitely would not be washing frozen colored sugar water from his hair. He'd been walking towards the library when some kid threw a slushie at him. Mercedes' friend Tim had been standing nearby and been splattered too.<p>

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Tim said, aggressively shouldering the culprit into a row of lockers. "From now on, think first!" The thrower mumbled something and ran off.

Tim looked at Blaine. "You got a clean shirt?"

"No. This was my clean shirt."

"You can borrow one of mine. Go wash off and meet me out front in 5 minutes."

Five minutes later Blaine was sitting on the front steps of the school when Tim tapped him on the shoulder. "Follow me." he said walking across the parking lot.

"Take your pick." he said unlocking a blue car. On the back seat was a duffel bag with several changes of clothing. No polos and bow ties, Tim usually wore graphic tees and pullovers. Blaine picked a tshirt emblazoned "I'm right 90% of the time. The other 15% doesn't matter."

"Thanks. I'll wash it and return it tomorrow."

"No rush."

"Can I ask why you carry around so many changes of clothing in your car?"

"This is Alice's car, not mine. I don't have one." He grabbed a shirt at random from the bag. He locked the car and put the key in his pocket. They walked across the parking lot and back towards the building. "Sometimes I have to stay out of my father's line of sight for a few days, maybe as long as a week. I like to be prepared. I learned that much from the boy scouts."

"So where do you go, when you're avoiding your father?"

"Alice's folks doesn't mind if I stay in her room."

"They don't? They don't mind their daughter's boyfriend spending the night?"

Tim laughed. "She's not my girlfriend, she's my best friend. I'm gay. Surprised you didn't know that. I mean that Mercedes didn't mention it."

"She wouldn't want to out you. I guess that's what she was thinking."

"Probably. Alice has a twin brother, Ben. Ben's my boyfriend. Unfortunately he's in LA for a couple of months."

"Why?"

"He been declared the best guitar player in Ohio. Alice should have won, she kicked his ass in the blind competition portion. Unfortunately they don't expect to see a girl playing an electric guitar and she came in second. She's still slightly pissed about that. She and Mercedes bond on that particular issues. That's why Alice went along with the singing thing."

"Didn't you want him to stay in Lima?"

"Sure I did, but what could I do? An opportunity like that isn't coming around again next week. I could have thrown a fit and demanded he stay, then I'd be hearing about it for the rest of my life. If it's meant to be he'll come back. Actually Alice and I are planning to go there for spring break. In a perfect world he'll have connections to get us all jobs and we'll be one big happy. In real life.." he shrugged. They reached to front doors. "You ought to have the nurse look at your eye. It looks bad."

* * *

><p>While in the bathroom Blaine looked at his right eye. It did look irritated, evidently corn syrup and contact lens solution don't mix. He pulled out his cell phone to send himself a reminder to wear his glasses instead of contacts tomorrow. There were two messages there<p>

i'm sorry. where are you? - K

sorry about how I acted when you left. still in shock i guess. hope mckinley is working out for you - W

Blaine sent a reply back to his ex-roommate Wes, who had been ignoring his texts all week.

W - it's different here. i'll call you tonight.

K - meet you in the library.

FF_2947886_ - Page 8 of 8 - Word Count: 1590


	4. Options

Mr. Schuester was surprised to hear music coming from the choir room. Practice didn't start until 3pm.

_I never wanted to change you_  
><em>I only wanted to share<em>  
><em>I don't believe, I don't believe<em>  
><em>In starting over and over again,<em>  
><em>Over and over again<em>

Mercedes was singing and playing the guitar, accompanied by Alice. The other band guitarist, Schuester blanked on his name, was shaking a tambourine and singing along.

"Mercedes, I thought we had a discussion at our last meeting."

"I remember." she said, maintaining the rhythm she was playing. "But I have this room reserved until 3. That's 5 minutes from now. If you want to have another discussion we can have it then." She hit a loud chord and Alice followed. Mercedes started singing again.

_Somebody who understands and loves me_  
><em>Despite all my weakness baby<em>  
><em>And that's OK<em>  
><em>At least I've got options<em>

_All the things you'll see_  
><em>(And the things that you wanted see)<em>  
><em>All the places you'll go<em>  
><em>(And the places that you wanted to go)<em>  
><em>All the people you need<em>  
><em>(And the people you wanted to need)<em>  
><em>All the lovers you've known<em>  
><em>And the lovers that you wanted to know<em>

_Everybody wants you_  
><em>Or wants to be you<em>

The Glee club filed in, surprised to see Mercedes there. They were even more surprised to see her pick up her guitar and stand next to Tim in the rhythm section. Schuester said something to Brad who nodded. Mercedes was officially 4th guitar and backup keyboards under Brad's direction.

"Mercedes threw such a fit about backing Rachel and now she's happy being 4th guitarist?" Kurt whispered to Blaine. "Why?"

"Because she believes it when Brad says she's the fourth best guitarist in this room. She doesn't believe that she's only good enough to sing backup for Rachel. She thinks, and I agree, that she's one of the top three female vocalists, top two now that Santana's gone, and Schuester's not going to give an an opportunity because of her size, which he pretty much confirmed the other day." Blaine answered. "You know, you could talk to her yourself."

Kurt looked at Blaine. He had driven home to get his glasses but hadn't changed his shirt. He was still wearing that stupid tshirt. Must have been something from lost and found. God knows where it's been.

"Where'd you get that shirt? You were wearing something different this morning."

"Slushie attack. Two in one day. Tim lent me this."

"Tim?" Kurt drew a blank on the name.

"The guy standing next to Mercedes, 2nd guitar I think. I'm guessing Alice is 1st. Damn she's good. You guys are lucky to have a band to practice with. At Dalton we had to-"

"Tim's crazy you know." Kurt looked at the boy wearing a tshirt emblazoned "Big mean people breed little mean people".

"Crazy?" he said surprised. "Really?"

"Not psychotic, Karfosky crazy. Unpredictable crazy. You never know what's going to set him off. When it happens, watch out."

Blaine thought about how casually he'd shoved that kid into a locker. "You ever see him go off?"

"Once. You only have to see it once. He was standing by his locker and somebody said something he didn't like. I don't know what he said but Tim slammed the kid's head into a locker. Then he looked down at him and smiled. "Think first next time." he said before he stepped over the kid."

"When did that happen?"

"I don't remember exactly, middle of freshman year maybe?"

"So it's not like he routinely goes around hitting people. I mean, not like some people here routinely throw icy drinks at people."

Kurt was puzzled as to where this conversation was going. "Not routinely. People tend to leave him alone, they don't want to set him off."

"Interesting." That was all Blaine said.

* * *

><p>Why exactly are they wasting time with West Side Story? Blaine couldn't remember how that had happened. Yes, now he remembered. The dark-haired girl, Santana, had gotten thrown out. Somehow the blonde cheerleader got to stay even though she pretty much admitted to knowing about the piano plot. It was wrong, but it was awesome the way that piano exploded in a ball of flames. Now that's something that you'd never see at Dalton.<p>

Then Rachel wanted to stage a production of West Side Story. Kurt told him later it would look good on their college applications. The Warblers would be working on a set list for Sectionals by now but according to Kurt this was another one of those things Blaine couldn't be expected to understand. It had taken a while for Kurt to get how the Warblers worked, New Directions would take time too.

Since Quinn quit, and Santana and Mercedes had been kicked out, that only left three female singers. Rachel was a strong singer, if a bit overwhelming. Brittany was good, through she was a better dancer than singer. Tina, he hadn't heard sing yet. Kurt described her voice as sweet and clear, but light. How light he wondered. She was sitting there, holding her boyfriend's hand, humming to herself. When he spoke to her it seemed to take a few seconds for her to return from where ever she went in her daydreams. But she'd come back, smile sweetly while answering him, and then mentally wander off again. Her boyfriend either didn't notice, didn't care or was used to it.

Rachel once said Kurt and Tina sounded especially good together. Blaine raised his hand.

"Yes. Blaine."

"Mr. Schuester, I'm new and don't understand how it works here." He heard Puck snicker. "But I'd like to request a duet."

"Sure." Mr Schuester smiled indulgently. He was betting on Blaine taking New Directions to Nationals.

"Can I please hear Kurt," Kurt smirked "and Tina?" Kurt's smirk flickered for a second. Tina woke up with a start, surprised to hear her name mentioned.

"Tina?" Mr. Schuester sounded shocked.

"Yes sir, if it's okay with Tina." No wonder he has such a problem holding on to his team. No wonder Tina fantasized during meetings. "I don't think I've ever heard her sing, and I've reviewed your performance tapes. I just wondered what she sounds like."

Kurt and Tina sang "Pure Imagination". They had sung that together last year at a funeral. Blaine closed his eyes and listened. Tina's voice was light, as in she sang softly. It was difficult to hear her over Kurt. They did blend nicely, it's just Kurt was louder. Not obnoxiously so but noticeable, especially if that's what you were listening for. That was the first thing they had worked on, when Kurt was a Warbler, making sure voices blend together. Evidently he had unlearned it just as quickly. Here it was all about making yourself heard.

He wished he could hear Mercedes and Tina together, how Mercedes would handle Tina's voice. Too bad, Mercedes seemed happy over in guitar land. As a group the band kids seemed happier, they joked quietly with each other when they weren't playing. Blaine made a note to himself, invite Tina to coffee house the next Dayton mixer night.

* * *

><p>Options – Gomez<p>

Pure Imagination – Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

FF_2947886_ - Page 5 of 5 - Word Count: 1244


	5. If Only For One Night

Tim stared into Mercedes' deep brown eyes. He'd never done that before, never noticed how expressive they are, when she's singing. They were glittering now, like stars.

_Let me hold you tight, if only for one night_  
><em>Let me keep you near to ease away your fears<em>  
><em>It would be so nice, if only for one night<em>

_I won't tell a soul, no one has to know_  
><em>If you want to be totally discreet<em>  
><em>I'll be at your side, if only for one night<em>

Mercedes stared back. Tim had really nice eyes, she'd never noticed that before. Almond shaped, like Tina and Mike, only light brown. Almost gold. Tim looked like nine months after an orgy at the United Nations. Mercedes knew his dad was Filipino and his mom was a mix of different European things. Except for the shape of his eyes you wouldn't know where to start guessing if you had to place him on a map. He was singing.

_Your eyes say things I never hear from you_  
><em>And my knees are shaking too<em>  
><em>But I'm willing, willing to go through<em>  
><em>I must be crazy standing in this place<em>  
><em>And I'm feeling no disgrace for asking<em>  
><em>For asking...<em>

"Back up off my woman!" Shane yelled for the back of the rehearsal room.

"Give it a rest, Shane." Mercedes yelled back, putting down her guitar. "We have to sing this at a wedding this weekend. That's what they're paying us for."

"We don't have this room all day." Tim said, irritated. "Can't we get though this without you crying that somebody's looking at your woman? Should have thought of that before you picked such a beautiful woman."

"You know what, Tim?" Shane said menacingly.

"No. What?" Tim replied taking a step towards Shane.

"Shane!" Mercedes warned.

"I'm sick of this." Shane said. "What's it going to be Mercy?"

"You're asking me to choose you and music?" From her tone you could tell they'd been down this road before. "Do I ask you to choose between me and football?"

"Football's important."

"Oh, so that's the difference." she sighed.

"So Mercy, what's it going to be?"

"Goodbye, Shane."

Blaine was there to coach Tim. Turns out Tim didn't need much help once he got started. Tim just needed more experience, which he was getting now, so Blaine was daydreaming about Kurt when Shane walked in. Now he watched Shane storm out of the room. Mercedes not only didn't follow him, she looked relieved to see him gone.

"Now that we're done with the drama, let's get through this." Cara said. Cara was a short blonde who plays keyboards for their band. Tim and Mercedes faced each other and start singing again.

_Let me take you home_  
><em>To keep you safe and warm<em>  
><em>Till the early dawn<em>  
><em>Warms up to the sun<em>  
><em>It would be so nice<em>  
><em>If only for one night<em>

This is freaking crazy, Mercedes thought. Why is he looking at me like that? He's gay! Mercedes had learned an expensive lesson about misreading the intentions of gay guys. She had a boyfriend, or at least she had one until 5 minutes ago. Tim said she was beautiful. Not nice, pretty or sweet, which she usually got, but beautiful. Shane had never said that to her. Only one other guy had ever said that.

Loneliness. That's what this is about Mercedes thought. "Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married and we'll never be lonely anymore." Myth that's throughly busted. You can be as lonely in a relationship as you are outside of it. Lonelier actually because you're supposed to be happy, like she was supposed to be happy with Shane. Her own parent's marriage almost broke up over loneliness. Late at night, when they thought Mercedes was asleep, they sat in the kitchen seriously talking divorce.

"So," she'd overheard her mother say in her lightly accented voice that reminded Mercedes of sunsets on the beaches of Trinidad, "are we going to throw this whole thing in the trash? Call it quits and end up 10 years from now sitting at some other kitchen table with some other spouse going through the same thing? Or are we going to work hard and fix this?"

So now they all go on hikes and her mother learned the difference between a spruce and a hemlock. So now they all volunteer for Habit for Humanity and her dad learned how to caulk and paint. So now they learned to cook together, instead of opening cans and calling for delivery. So now they all laugh again.

Tim's gotta be missing his boyfriend pretty badly. Mercedes didn't know how gay kids find each other in Lima but there's got to be more of them around than just these three. She'd missed Sam but Shane was easy to find.

Had she been using Shane? She should go talk to him, apologize, make a clean break. She'd been lonely with Shane, there were too many things she wanted to talk about that he just wasn't interested in. What's the point of a boyfriend if you can't talk to him? Shane was a good kisser, she liked that, but she needed talking, too. Somebody you can say anything to, a listener. Generally speaking, listeners are hard to find. She'd been lucky to find such a good listener in Sam. Too bad she found him so late.

* * *

><p>Tim was glad they were both holding guitars. You can't hug a person while holding a guitar, and he definitely wanted to grab Mercedes and kiss her right now. What the hell was going on? He'd kissed girls before, back when he wasn't sure if he was gay or not. He'd kissed them and liked it actually. He could see the beauty of girls, in the artistic sense. But he'd never had a crush on a girl, never wanted to have sex with a girl. Boys ruled his fantasies. He'd had a lot of fantasies involving Kurt, back before Ben came out. Then he didn't have to fantasize any more. He loved Ben, as much as a 17 year old can. He knew the odds of Ben being "THE ONE" were slim. He didn't expect to end up married to him, but he did want to see him again, as soon as possible. Ben should be home for Christmas break. Ben. Stop looking at Mercedes and focus on Ben. Check your finger position, look at Cara for your next cue, see where Alice is leading this piece. Stop looking at Mercedes! Remember, you don't like girls. Except this one.<p>

* * *

><p>"You know what my dad calls that song, If Only For One Night? He calls it baby making music." Mercedes said laughing nervously. "I can see why. It's easy to get carried away by it, see things that maybe aren't there." She was sitting with Tim in the choir room. Glee practice was starting in 10 minutes and the rest of the band had gone to take a break.<p>

"Yes, I guess so." he avoided looking at her eyes. So she had felt it too. "You did a good job, setting the mood and all."

"You too."

"Mercedes," He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "After practice, would you like to go out for coffee or something? I think we need to talk."

* * *

><p>If Only For One Night – Brenda Russell or Luther Vandross<p>

Chapel of Love – Dixie Cups

FF_2947886_ - Page 5 of 5 - Word Count: 1272


	6. Tell Me A Story

McKenna's wasn't the kind of place Blaine would normally hang out in. Definitely not Kurt's kind of place. Kurt, and Blaine, liked the Lima Bean. The Lima Bean wasn't part of a chain, but it had that kind of polish. It was carefully designed not to offend, like a room at the Hilton. It was comfortable and polished. He went there a lot with Kurt, and sometimes with Kurt and Rachel. Less often Finn joined them.

McKenna's, on the other hand, was quirky and opinionated, like Mr. McKenna. If the Lima Bean was like staying in a hotel, McKenna's was like staying at your cousin's. The cousin who is slightly clumsy and breaks things, causing your aunt to shop at the thrift store cause she'll be replacing it soon anyway.

For instance, the coffee cups at the Lima Bean are emblazoned with the store's logo. The coffee cups at McKenna's say "Number One Teacher" or "World's Best Dad" or whatever they had at the second hand store. The tables and chairs were just as random. The first floor of a house near the University, the prices were cheap enough so that students could afford it. That and free wifi kept the place pretty busy.

Both places were comfortable, but in opposite ways. The Lima Bean reminded him of Kurt. McKenna's remanded him of his new friends. The main reason Blaine started going there was for something to do on Thursday nights. Thursday was the night Rachel and Blaine went to Dayton to prep for their audition.

Today he was meeting Santana at McKenna's. She kept saying she wanted to talk to him but bolting whenever anybody else was around. McKinley kids didn't hang around here. The Lima Bean in the mall was much more popular with kids.

Santana and Mercedes were sitting at the best table in McKenna's, a table set in a small nook in the corner. It had benches instead of chairs and an arbor you walked though. It was private, with kind of a secret garden feel to it. The two girls were looking at a notebook. Santana was writing and Mercedes was frowning. Mercedes looked up and waved when she saw Blaine.

"Hey Blaine, over here!" she stood up, leaving the notebook with Santana. "Sit down." she ordered. "I'm going to help Alice behind the bar." she said before leaving.

Yes, McKenna's had a bar along one wall, perhaps it had been a bar once? They didn't server alcohol now, just coffee, soup, sandwiches, salad and dessert.

"What's that?" Blaine asked sitting down.

"A food diary. Mercedes asked me to help her drop a few pounds." she closed the notebook and folded her hands on the cover. "I wanted to talk to you for a reason." she studied him for a few seconds. "Tell me a story."

He looked at the dark-haired girl in confusion. "Tell you a story? A story about what?"

"Tell me a story about a guy who could have easily stayed in the closet and choose to come out."

"Okay." He was even more puzzled. "Once there was a guy who was in the closet and he choose to come out."

"How old was this guy?"

"12. It was the summer before 7th grade. He was at a summer camp on Lake Michigan. A boy's camp next to a girl's camp. The boys would sneak over to look at the girls. Some of the girls would meet some of the boys in the woods. It was the thing to do, you know? Then, they talked about the girls. What they did, what they wanted to do, which girl would do what. You know?"

"I know." And 12th grade boys are no different she thought.

"I didn't want any of that. I wanted a boy. A particular boy. Ben was his name. He was cute and shy. I had dreams about him. Anyway, at the end of camp they had a joint talent show. I sang a song to him."

"Not that stupid Michael Jackson song about the rat?" she asked leaning forward.

Blaine blushed. "Yeah, that one."

Santana laughed so loudly several students looked up from their laptops. "I'm sorry." She patted Blaine's hand. "Really, that was rude. So what did he do?"

"He ran out. Never spoke to me again."

"I'm really sorry." she squeezed his hand. "But what you're saying is, coming out was a big mistake. It cost you Ben."

"I never had Ben. Maybe I should have talked to him privately first. Anyway, that's not the coming out part, that's the reason why part." He drank more of his coffee. "I figured if I just was out, like a fact, that hurdle to a relationship would be over."

"So you just walked up to Kurt and said Hi, my name is Blaine and I'm gay?"

"Not exactly. I could tell right away that odds were he was gay. My being gay was relevant to the conversation we were having. And speaking of that-"

"And your folks." she leaned forward again as if this were the most interesting part. "How did you tell them? Can you give me a ride to the mall and by the way I'm gay?"

"How do you know your parents don't already know?"

"Hey, this isn't about me." she said, smiling slyly.

"Well then, you're supposed to say 'A friend of mine blah, blah, blah' before you start asking me questions about coming out." He laughed at her spreading grin. "That's part of the script."

"I'll make a note of that. So how did you tell your parents?"

"I think my mom already knew. We would to go to family things and people would say, 'So Blaine, why don't you have a girlfriend yet?' My mom would always say 'Blaine's just waiting for the right girl.' So one day we're driving home from my cousin's wedding. We stopped at a diner for coffee, cause it was late and we were far from home, and my mom said 'Don't worry Blaine, the right girl is out there for you.' And I said 'Or boy.'"

He took another sip of coffee. "You ever take a test where you're totally unprepared? You didn't study and didn't understand a single word on the paper? You take the test anyway and pray the teacher gets drunk before he grades it? Then, when you get the result you're afraid to turn it over? And when you do it's exactly what you expected? You failed. Disappointed but not surprised."

Santana nodded and Blaine continued. "Well, that's how my mother looked. Like she knew it all along but didn't want to believe it. Like hearing it made it official. My dad, he didn't say anything. But that night, they had a hell of a fight. A screaming loud enough to wake up the neighbors fight. Next day he brought me a car."

"I thought you were 12 or something?"

"By this time I'm 13. But yes, I couldn't drive. It wasn't much of a car, we were supposed to bond by rebuilding it. Neither one of us is much into cars but I guess it was supposed to be a manly thing. Thing is, Kurt knows more about cars than I do."

"So your parents were okay with it?"

"More or less. Just tell them. If they love you they'll deal with it."

"Thanks Blaine." she hugged him. "You're a sweetheart. Kurt doesn't deserve you!"

* * *

><p>Tim walked into the coffee house carrying a large flat square package. Mercedes was wiping down an empty table when Tim set the package on the table. "Mercedes, you got a couple of minutes?"<p>

"Sure." they had been avoiding each other for the past few days. Mercedes had pretty much convinced herself what she'd felt that day was more Luther Vandross than Tim, but better to keep her distance, just in case. She sat down at the table.

"So, how was your talk with Shane?" Tim said sitting down.

"About what I expected. He thinks I'm making a mistake, chasing gay guys as he put it. He said I may have had a little luck converting Sam but you're a waste of my time." Thank god she hadn't told Shane the whole story about wouldn't want that thrown back in her face. "I told him this isn't about you. I don't know about you. It's just that our relationship, Shane and mine, didn't feel right. That I only went out with him because I didn't want to be alone and that's not fair to him." She looked at the package in front of her.

"You didn't leave Shane for me, did you?"

"No, not for you. You're gay, remember? Maybe I need to be alone for a while. Anyway, what's this?"

He slid the package across the table. "I did this for a show."

She unwrapped the package. It was a portrait of her, which was surprising considering she didn't sit for it. The pose looked vaguely familiar but she'd never worn her hair that way or owned that dress. In the portrait her hair was pulled back, she was sitting on a beach at sunset wearing pearls and a white dress that draped over one shoulder. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she were just about to sing. What she liked best is Tim hadn't tried to slim her down. She looked like herself, not his idea of a slimmer, prettier version of Mercedes.

"It's beautiful."

"Thanks. I need it for the show but I wanted you to see it first. You can have it later." he looked at the painting appraisingly. "Whitney Houston."

"What about her?"

"It's based on the cover of her first album. Except it's you, of course."

Alice walked by carrying a sandwich to a customer. She glanced down at the painting. "Nice work. That for the art show?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you put it in my room? So it won't get damaged."

"Sure. I'll be right back." he said leaving the table.

Alice delivered the sandwich and sat down opposite Mercedes. "So.." she started.

"So..." Mercedes repeated.

"Be careful with Tim. I like him, love him in a sense, but he is a complicated person. I don't know what you want from him but don't assume he's safe because he's gay."

"Tell your brother not to worry. Ms. Jones is flying solo for a while." Mercedes said smiling.

FF_2947886_ - Page 6 of 6 - Word Count: 1792


	7. Breakfast at McKenna's

Blaine woke up in an unfamiliar place to an unfamiliar sound. The place was a futon on the floor. The sound was a mechanical whirl, then a pause, then another whirl. A blender? Yes, a blender. He sat up and looked at the couple sitting at the kitchenette counter. The girl, he guessed by the long brown curly hair, had her back to him. Alice. This was Alice's room. Tim held up a glass. "Banana blueberry smoothie or coffee? It's late so those are your options."

"Smoothie's fine." he sat up and looked around. "What time is it?"

"7:30." Alice said. "Hope you're the up, dressed and out the door in 5 minutes kind of guy. If so you can ride to school with us. Otherwise you're going to be late."

No, Blaine was not an up and out the door in 5 minutes kind of guy so fifteen minutes later he was sitting alone in Alice's room trying to figure out why he was here and more importantly, who slept where last night. Alice's room was a converted two car garage. Originally she and her brother had used it as a practice room because it was separated from the house by a covered breezeway. With the addition of a bathroom and kitchenette it became a livable studio apartment. The garage was taller than normal so there was room for a sleeping loft upstairs, Alice's actual bedroom. Blaine knew Tim slept over occasionally and he guessed Tim slept on the futon. Tim had made it very clear that he wasn't sleeping with Alice. So where did Tim sleep last night?

Blaine had skipped West Side Story practice last night to hang out with Mercedes. Rachel called him unprofessional but really, his scenes were just fine and who wanted to watch her practice "I Feel Pretty" for the millionth time?

He was sitting in McKenna's Coffee Shop, listening to Mercedes sing the virtues of Shelby Corcoran, when Alice and Tim came in. They had no choice but to sit through rehearsal, being members of the school band, and were throughly disgusted about the waste of time. Then the four of them went to Alice's room. Mercedes left early, said she had a history exam to study for. Damn! Blaine suddenly remembered he's in that same class, so he had to go to school today.

But back to last night. That's right, there had been alcohol consumed. Then Alice went to bed. Tim and Blaine stayed up talking and drinking. They had to speak softly because the loft wasn't a separate room, there was only a half-wall there so sound traveled. Tim knew about a gay teen underground that existed in Lima that Kurt was totally unaware of. He talked about his boyfriend who was currently in LA. That boyfriend in LA was Alice's brother and the reason they both joined Shelby's glee club, the chance for a trip to Nationals in LA to visit said brother. Blaine talked about Kurt and how maybe leaving Dalton had been a huge mistake. They were laying on the futon, talking, when- Shit! Please let that be a drunken fantasy. No, it really happened. Blaine leaned over and kissed Tim. Think Blaine, think! What happened next?

Tim cradled Blaine's jaw in his hand. He kissed him, a long, slow kiss. Then he smiled sadly. "Let's try this again sometime when we're both sober." He stood up and started up the stairs. "Give me a call when you're done with Kurt."

* * *

><p>Mercedes raised one eyebrow when Blaine slipped into the seat next to her in History. Santana stared outright. Blaine was wearing what he'd worn yesterday, and he looked like he'd slept in it. He also hadn't done whatever he usually does to tame his hair and that was a definite improvement. Mercedes remembered where she'd left Blaine so the whole scenario was damned interesting. And Alice had been worried about her! "Tim's complicated" she'd said. No shit! Well, Blaine's more up Tim's alley so hopefully this was the end of those soulful looks he'd been giving her. Too bad, Mercedes kind of liked getting soulful looks, though she would prefer them from straight guys. She'd hate to see Kurt get hurt, though he's probably the world's most high maintenance boyfriend so maybe it was just a matter of time.<p>

"That's a different look for you." she observed.

"Same look as yesterday."

"Yesterday you were ironed. You got a story worked out for Kurt?"

"I've got time to go home and change before practice."

"You realize you're in the same room as Santana Gotta-start-some-shit Lopez and Jacob ben National-Enquirer Israel? Kurt's probably looking at a picture of you right now."

"Nothing happened."

"Okay. I'm not the one you need to convince. And you'd better work on saying nothing happened with blushing. Dead giveaway. If it were me, and god I wish these kind of things would happen to me, I'd use the 'if we'd gotten naked my clothes wouldn't be winkled' line of defense." She grinned at him. "Just throwing that out there."

* * *

><p>Will and Shelby had distinct working styles that just didn't mesh. Shelby ranked students. Everybody on her team knew where they were ranked and what they had to do to move up in rank. If you're a background singer and you don't like it? Come in for extra practice or quit. Simple. She also didn't think vocalists should necessarily have to be dancers too. Jesse St. James couldn't dance, Shelby just choreographed the dancers to hide that fact, that was her job. Shelby was flexible about working around student schedules, heck she wanted to get home as much as anybody. Once her team picked the songs they were going to do, and they picked songs early, they broke off into groups, practiced when and how they wanted and came back so that Shelby could tweak their performances.<p>

Shelby's team consisted of Mercedes and Tim, both of whom were excellent singers; Alice, who was a dancer; a couple of sophomores who had singing potential; and Sugar, who was in a class by herself. Her money made up for her slim singing voice. Shelby had to choose material very carefully to suit Sugar. Hopefully Sugar would get bored and be gone by the time Sectionals rolled around. Sue Sylvester agreed to lend Shelby as many dancers as she wanted so technically Shelby didn't need anything from Will.

Will didn't believe in ranking. He thought it discouraged students but his system was worse. He held fake competitions that everybody knew Rachel was going to win. That was the thing that frustrated Mercedes the most, if he had just said she was too fat for the front row she could have respected that. Maybe. Instead he acted like Rachel "won". Will also held large meetings where his team argued over songs, changing their minds till the last minute. Mercedes didn't like to practice for the sake of practicing but she did want to know what she'd be performing. Not nailing down a set list until the last minute was what had cost them Nationals last year. Will's team consisted of the remaining members of New Directions, stuck at 11, one short.

So the first, and only, joint meeting of the two glee clubs was particularly interesting. Santana was in fine form, throwing insults in every direction and she didn't even blame a made-up diagnosis. Sugar was so impressed that her Asperger's made a sudden come-back. Tim was sitting with the band, instead of with the singers, and spent most of his time practicing the guitar or talking to Alice. Will was setting up another fake competition for Rachel to win. Kurt was sulking, Blaine was keeping a low profile.

"Like your hair. Is there something special you did, or didn't do, this morning?" Santana whispered to Blaine.

"Can you please just give it a rest?"

"What? Did I touch on a sore subject?" she said mockingly.

Kurt sighed loudly. Blaine looked at him and then growled to Santana, "Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Mercedes applauded.

Finally both Will and Shelby looked over. They had previously been focused on Rachel's incessant whining.

"Blaine? Do you want to explain what just happened?" Will asked.

"Sorry, Mr. Schuester. I'm just tired from West Side Story and everything. Maybe I'm getting sick and should go home early."

"Okay, you're excused." Will couldn't have Blaine getting sick, he was his male star and his numbers were low enough as it was.

Blaine avoided looking at Kurt, Santana or Tim on the way out.

FF_2947886_ - Page 5 of 5 - Word Count: 1240


	8. Sober

In the three years they'd both been at McKinley, Kurt and Tim had never had a single conversation. Odd, really because they had one big thing in common, they were two of the handful of gay teens at McKinley High. Problem was Tim knew Kurt was gay, but not vice versa. Everybody knew Kurt was gay, that was his identity. Tim's identity was one of reckless unpredictability. However, based on a conversation last week with Blaine, Kurt was not totally surprised to find Tim standing at his locker.

"I owe you an apology." Tim said.

"Why?" Kurt knew exactly why. Blaine had told him the whole story and frankly Kurt wasn't angry with either boy. He'd seen Blaine drunk before, he knew how he gets. He'd seen how Tim acts when sober so could only imagine how he acts when drunk. Kurt was just happy Blaine wasn't breaking up with him. Conversations with Blaine that started with "We have to talk." always made Kurt nervous. He still had a hard time believing Blaine really loved him, that little voice in his head kept saying it was just a matter of time before Blaine moved on.

"I think you know why. I just wanted to tell you that Blaine behaved himself. The whole thing was my fault."

Oh, so Tim's willing to lie to cover for Blaine. "Blaine said he started it."

"My fault for being so irresistible." he laughed but stopped when he saw Kurt's frown. "No really, when I drink I drink a lot so I shouldn't have let him try to keep up. That part was my fault."

"Okay. I talked to Blaine already. I accept your apology."

"Thank you. There's one last thing. This is going to be in the school paper tomorrow. Sorry, but by the time I saw it it was too late to do anything about it."

Kurt looked at the paper Tim handed him. "What carefully coiffed choirboy rolled into history class last week looking like he'd been rode hard and put away wet? There's at least one songbird wondering whose bed his boots have been under. Rumor has it he was seen sneaking down the back steps of a girl who's identity will remain disguised because I'm a gentleman and the lady in question has a heck of a left hook that she's not afraid to use."

"I swear, nobody got "rode hard" as Jacob so eloquently put it. It was just a long conversation about you and warblers I think he called them."

"And a couple of kisses." Kurt reminded him. Kurt was actually glad he had this little talk with Tim. If Blaine was trading kisses with a girl, well that's something he wasn't equipped to compete against.

"And a lot of alcohol." Tim reminded him.

"He talked about Dalton?" Blaine never talks about Dalton, Kurt never talks about West Side Story. They both pretend they don't care. That's a lot of things not to talk about Kurt thought.

"He went there for a long time." Tim was glad to change the subject from drunken kisses. "I guess he misses them. Anyway, sorry about my part in this. Don't worry, next week it'll be other people's turn to be embarrassed."

* * *

><p>Mercedes was surprised to see Kurt ordering at the counter of McKenna's. Wasn't any place safe from those New Directions kids? Didn't he have practice or something? Obviously not because here he was, holding a cup of coffee and looking around for a place to sit. He was looking directly at her now. Sometimes, Kurt had this face where he looked like he was gloating about something. She wanted to slap that face. Sometimes his face was all wounded puppy. She wanted to feed hot chocolate to that face. Today it was a normal, do you mind if I join you face. She put away the letter she was writing to Sam, smiled and pointed to the chair next to her.<p>

"Hey Kurt! What brings you here?"

"To be honest I wondered why Blaine likes it so much. I decided to skip practice and check it out. There's not much for me to do at practice anyway." He looked at Tim, who was scowling at a customer. For a change Alice was all sunshine and rainbows. "Is he always like that?"

"Not usually. He's been in a bad mood all week. It's odd because it's like he and Alice swapped personalities. She's usually the cranky one."

Tim came over with the salad Kurt ordered. "Here you go." he said putting it down and turning to walk away.

"Is something wrong, Tim?" Mercedes asked.

"No, I've just been feeling like crap ever since..."

"Ever since what?"

"Ever since I stopped drinking. You're supposed to feel better. Oh well, one day at a time and all that shit."

"You stopped drinking?" Mercedes hadn't realized that he drank so much that stopping would make this big a difference in his behavior.

"Well, you remember the alcohol-awareness presentation we did? Freaking story of my life. So I decided to give sobriety a try."

Mercedes remembered. Last year the old glee club gave a alcohol-fueled rendition of Ke$ha's Tik Tok, a salute to drunken sex. This year the other glee club performed P!nk's Sober. She remembered Tim singing lead.

_I'm safe up high,_  
><em>Nothing can touch me.<em>  
><em>Why do I feel this party's over?<em>  
><em>No pain inside, you're my protection.<em>  
><em>How do I feel this good sober?<em>

_I don't wanna be the guy that has to fill the silence._  
><em>The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth.<em>  
><em>Please don't tell me that we had that conversation,<em>  
><em>I wont remember, save your breath, 'cause what's the use?<em>

_Ah-ah-ah, the night is calling,_  
><em>And it whispers to me softly: "Come and play..."<em>  
><em>Ah-ah-ah, and I am falling.<em>  
><em>And if I let myself go, I'm the only one to blame!<em>

"Anything to do with Blaine?" Kurt asked.

"Not directly. I just don't want to be my own worst mistake, if you follow. Passed out drunk leaves you pretty vulnerable. Working here, around a lot of guys who are asses of every sexual persuasion, you overhear a lot. Anyway, I-" he saw Alice holding a plate and pointing to it. "I gotta get back to work."

Tim retrieved the plate and delivered it to the table Alice pointed to. His back was to the kitchen so he didn't notice a brown haired boy walking up behind him. The boy grabbed his ass and Tim whirled around, ready to punch him. Instead he squealed like a baby and kissed the boy, so passionately that they both almost lost their balance. Luckily the couple at the table they bumped into grabbed their coffee cups fast enough to prevent a spill.

"When the hell did you get back? How long you gonna be home? Alice, I knew you were up to something!" They were laughing, kissing and grabbing each other all at the same time.

"Just till Sunday. Happy birthday, baby!"

"Sunday! Today's Wednesday. That's hardly any time at all!"

"Well let's not waste it. Hey, Alice?" Ben called, pulling Tim with him towards the back door.

"I know the drill. My stuff's moved out already. Don't wreck the place and stay out of my room."

"It was my room first."

"Well it's my room now! Now get out before I change my mind."

"Who was that?" Kurt asked once everyone had turned back to their laptops.

"Ben. Alice's brother, Tim's boyfriend. They're twins but Alice looks mixed and Ben looks white. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah, weird." he said in a preoccupied tone. "So where has he been and for how long that Tim was so excited?"

"LA on a guitar scholarship of something. Just since the school year started. Tim misses him, well I guess you could see that. Actually, that's the only reason Tim and Alice joined Shelby's club, to maybe get a free ride to LA for Nationals."

"Are they always that physical?"

"Not in public like that, but around friends, yeah. But if two guys are going to get physical, this is the place. Nights it's mostly college students, they don't care what you do." Kurt made a note of that piece of information.

"And their parents?" he asked. "They don't care that Tim and Ben are doing god knows what in their house?"

"Tim would get killed if he got caught with Ben in his house. His dad barely tolerates him as it is. The McKenna's on the other hand, figure kids are going to screw around and they might as well do it at home. I guess it's from running this place next to a college campus, they see so many kids go wild their first time away from home." She shifted her books around and Sam's letter fell to the floor. Kurt handed it back without looking at it. Good thing he's so clueless, she thought.

"Damn, did Ben say he'd be here all weekend?" Mercedes asked, suddenly remembering their plans for Saturday.

"I think so." Kurt said eying a gay couple sitting near them. They weren't groping each other but you could tell they were a couple and nobody seemed to care.

"Kurt, can you do me a huge favor?"

* * *

><p><strong>Whose bed have your boots been under - title of a Shania Twain song<br>**

**Sober – ****P!nk**

FF_2947886_ - Page 5 of 5 - Word Count: 1369


	9. Reasons

Shelby Corcoran sat looking at the young man standing in front of her. He was pretty, very pretty, with a voice to match his features. That was going to be a problem. This song he was singing, it was totally wrong. Judy Garland! She was surprised Will hadn't broken him of that. She waited patiently for him to finish. He was beaming at her. True, it was damned good Garland. But really!

"Have a seat." she pointed to the nearest chair.

"Thank you."

"Kurt, I need to ask you a question. Where do you see yourself 20 years from now?"

"I see myself on stage, performing." he said quickly. "I'm wearing-"

"Okay," she interrupted. "The next day, what do the reviews say? Are they talking about how your voice has mellowed into a rich instrument or are they talking about how sad it is that you lost your range?"

"Excuse me?" What was she talking about?

"To be brutally honest, unless you're aiming for a career as a female impersonator, you're going to have to start covering different material. There are tenors and countertenors that sound like men. I want you to listen to these." She handed him a zip drive. "You don't have to, that's just my professional opinion. Now, to get to the reason why you're here." she continued briskly. "Mercedes explained about the fundraiser this Saturday?"

"Yes," he said turning the small device over in his hands. "She said it's for Beth's nursery school."

"Correct. I'm giving a concert. Theme - Great American Songbook. I thought it would be a good opportunity for Tim to get more experience. Mercedes can do this in her sleep and they pulled together 6 pieces. Now his boyfriend's in town and Mercedes recommended you as a replacement. If you'd rather not, if you feel like it would make trouble for you with Mr. Schuester, feel free to say no. Mercedes can do it on her own if she has to but she said she enjoyed singing with you."

"No, Ms. Corcoran, I'd really like to do this."

Shelby smiled. "Thank you Kurt. Just remember, I want to hear a man and a woman, not two women."

* * *

><p>"What are you listening to?" Blaine was laying on Kurt's bed, trying to entice the older boy to lay down beside him. Kurt was pacing, nervous.<p>

"Something Shelby asked me to listen to. It's horrendous." Kurt said frowning. "Just not me."

"Put it on the speakers so I can hear it."

"Okay, but it's bad."

It was a man, singing falsetto, but definitely a man and he was begging for sex. Actually, Blaine found it quite erotic.

"It's not horrendous! You're over-thinking it. Just sit down for a minute and feel it."

Kurt sat down on the bed, reluctantly. Blaine knelt behind Kurt and started massaging his shoulders while singing along, several octaves lower.

"Now, I'm craving your body, is this real  
>Temperature's rising, I don't want to feel<br>I'm in the wrong place to be real  
>Woahh and I'm longing to love you<br>just for a night,  
>Kissing and hugging and holding you tight<br>Please let me love you  
>with all my might<p>

Blaine was kissing the back of Kurt's neck, and Kurt was starting to relax. He started nibbling Kurt's ear. Blaine backed up, slowly so that Kurt was laying on his back before he knew it. Blaine rolled over quickly so that he was sitting on Kurt's stomach. He laughed and leaned over for a kiss. Kurt reached up and ran his hands through the shorter boy's hair. They were kissing and rolling around on the bed when Kurt's brother Finn knocked, waited a fraction of a second, and walked in.

"Whoa! Sorry." Finn said backing out.

"It's okay." Kurt said. Blaine could feel him tensing up.

"Go away!" Blaine said, pulling Kurt closer.

"Gone!" Finn said closing the door behind him.

But it was too late, Kurt was thinking again.

"Shelby thinks I should sing that. Philip Bailey, that's the lead singer's name. Philip Bailey, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, George Michael, Marvin Gaye, Barry Gibb, Prince, Michael Jackson. They all sang in my range and didn't come across as girly. Okay, Michael Jackson did but you see my point." Gently pushing Blaine to one side, he sat up. "She thinks I'll have problems getting type-cast in the future if I don't start picking different material."

"Play it again, I liked it a lot." He smiled seductively.

Kurt looked into Blaine's deep brown eyes. Well, they had a little time before Blaine had to leave. But first he made sure the door was locked

* * *

><p>Like most people, Kurt had given a lot of thought to how he'd lose his virginity. It would be at a classy hotel, in an outrageously pricey room. Make that suite of rooms. There'd be an expensive dinner full of lobster, caviar, hand-holding and smoldering glances. Then he and Blaine, for he knew it would be Blaine the first time he saw him, would go back to their room. There'd be chocolate covered strawberries, champagne and roses. Judy Garland would be singing "You Made Me Love You" and Kurt would be singing along. There was an off chance Ella Fitzgerald would be singing "Isn't it Romantic" but probably Garland. Throw in a bathtub full of bubbles. In some scenarios it happens in his, or maybe Blaine's, bed but never in a million years would he have guessed he'd be listening to Marvin Gaye singing "Got to Give it Up." He'd imagined an orchestra, not a driving bass line, but that's how it worked out.<p>

They'd listened to "Reasons" again. It's a slow-grind song and that's what they'd done, stand there kissing, grinding their hips together, playing with each other's hair. Then Barry Gibb was singing "Staying Alive" so they danced to that. Kurt sat out the next song but Blaine kept dancing. Dancing like a stripper at a bachelorette party. He was all about swiveling hips and flashing his abs. They were very nice abs.

_I used to go out to parties and stand around_  
><em>'Cause I was too nervous to really get down<em>  
><em>But my body yearned to be free<em>  
><em>I got up on the floor, boy<em>  
><em>so somebody could choose me.<em>

Kurt watched in fascination as he pulled off his shirt and waved it above his head.

_No more standin' there beside the walls_  
><em>I have got myself together, baby<em>  
><em>I'm havin' a ball<em>

"Dance with me baby." Blaine was pulling him to his feet.

_Long as you're groovin'_  
><em>There's always a chance<em>  
><em>Somebody watchin' might wanna make romance<em>

The last time something like this happened Kurt was a bundle of nerves because he didn't know Blaine that well at the time. This time Kurt relaxed and let himself be led.

_Move your body, ooo baby,_  
><em>And dance all night<em>  
><em>Do that grooving'<em>  
><em>Feel all right<em>

_Everybody's groovin' on like a fool_  
><em>But if you see me spread out and let me in<em>  
><em>Baby just party high and low<em>  
><em>Let me step into your erotic zone<em>

Blaine was dancing with his hands on Kurt's hips, guiding him in time to the music. Next thing he knew they're dancing in their underwear. Then they're rolling around in bed, naked.

_You're movin your body easy with no doubt_  
><em>Know what you thinkin' baby<em>  
><em>You want to turn me out<em>  
><em>Think I'm gonna let you do it babe<em>

_Keep on dancin'_  
><em>You got to get it<em>  
><em>Got to give it up<em>

No champagne and roses but it was freaking glorious. Or at least it was until the sound of Finn banging on the door registered.

"They're stopping to pick up pizza but they'll be here in 10 minutes! They want to know if Blaine's staying for dinner. Should have told them he's having dessert right now. Don't expect me to stall them outside. Finish up!"

* * *

><p>Reasons – Earth Wind and Fire<p>

Staying Alive (Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) - Bee Gees

Got to Give It Up - Marvin Gaye

FF_2947886_ - Page 4 of 4 - Word Count: 1136


	10. A Fine Romance

Today Kurt was at McKenna's wearing his worried face. Mercedes knew he wanted to ask her something and was working up the nerve. While Kurt worked on that Mercedes thought about Sam's last letter. Things were going from bad to worse for him. His mom, Stevie and Stacey were living with his grandmother. His step-dad was in Texas, looking for work. Sam was bouncing back and forth between his grandmother's, where there was no room for him, and Zack's, his best friend. Mercedes was trying to figure out the most diplomatic way of enticing him back to Ohio. But finally Kurt's ready to talk.

"Mercedes," he started. "Remember last summer, all those times I covered for you and Sam?"

"Yes." she said warily.

"Were you and Sam." he paused again. "Were you guys being intimate?"

Her look was half "none of your damned business" and half curiosity. She went with curiosity.

"Yes. Why do you want to know?"

"Was it a mistake? Did you feel like maybe you'd made a terrible mistake? Finn felt that way with Santana. You guys" he paused "and now he's gone. Was it a mistake?"

"You're thinking about having sex with Blaine and you're worried it's a mistake?"

"Kinda late for that but yes, was it a mistake?"

Aw, her baby was all grown up! "First off, Finn didn't love Santana and we're talking Santana so yes, that was a mistake. Second, it's not like Sam ran off with some malnourished blonde. If it had ended that way it would have been a mistake. Sam didn't have the option of staying in Lima. Third, did you do it because you love each other or were you afraid of losing him if you didn't?"

"No, I didn't feel pressured. I love him and I wanted to do it."

"Okay, so have things changed between you guys?"

"Actually, things are better between us. There were things we were afraid to share with each other. I know he discussed Dalton with you and Tim, but never with me because he didn't want me to think he was blaming me. Now he talks about it. And I can talk about West Side Story and he listens without getting defensive because he knows I'm just venting and I really want him to be happy."

"Let me tell you one thing about Sam, the only thing I'm ever going to tell you about Sam. When I was with Sam, I never felt fat. I always felt like Sam loved every curve, every pound of me. Like I was beautiful. If Blaine makes you feel that way, like the things you don't like about yourself have all disappeared, it wasn't a mistake." she smiled at him, the first real smile in months. "Now, are you ready for Shelby?"

* * *

><p>Artie Abrams sat quietly in the back of the auditorium, watching Mercedes and Kurt perform. Ms. Corcoran was standing on stage, directing and correcting the singers. They alternated lines, doing an excellent job portraying a couple singing a sarcastic love ballad, detailing how disappointed they are.<p>

_A fine romance, with no kisses_  
><em>A fine romance, my friend this is<em>  
><em>We should be like a couple of hot tomatoes<em>  
><em>But you're as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes<em>  
><em>A fine romance, you won't nestle<em>  
><em>A fine romance, you won't wrestle<em>  
><em>You never mussed the crease In my blue serge pants<em>  
><em>I never got the chance!<em>  
><em>Ain't this a fine romance!<em>

They were selling that song, you could believe the relationship. Kurt came across as manly, not macho but manly. Mercedes came across as desirable, not the girl you stare at from across the room but talk to her once and you'd be back. Artie compared them to the problem he was having with Rachel and Blaine. First, three directors are two too many. Two, Rachel and Blaine are unconvincing as lovers. Rachel's running against Kurt for senior class president was made even worse by the fact that Rachel's the one with the coherent platform. Now Blaine's icy cold and Rachel's blazing with righteous indignation. The combination is luke-warm. Double-casting Maria doesn't solve their problem. They're going to have to double-cast both roles. Rachel/Puck and Blaine/Santana. Kind of a shame because Santana's a good Anita. Blaine and Santana had that fight in glee club last week but that seemed to have blown over, they can work together. He was watching Mercedes and Kurt laughing and acting flirty when Blaine and Tina sat down next to him.

"Aren't they great together?" Tina said. "I forgot how good they sound, especially when he sings in his lower register like that. It's as nice as when he sings with Rachel."

"Why are they doing that? Is Kurt jumping ship?" Artie asked Blaine. He'd know.

"No. Shelby's doing a fund raiser, outside of glee club. Mercedes is helping and her partner bailed. She asked Kurt to help her."

"I thought she was mad at Kurt." Tina pointed out.

"She had her reasons and they're both trying to work things out. And Kurt loves that kind of music. Shelby's helped him more in two days than..." Blaine trailed off. He didn't want to come across as a complainer.

Kurt and Mercedes completed the song to Shelby's satisfaction. "Remember, Saturday at 6 pm." she called as she left the stage.

Blaine and Tina ran up to the stage. Kurt, who was so manly before, literally skipped over to Blaine and hurled himself in his arms. Luckily Blaine seemed to be expecting it so he caught him. When Blaine first showed up the two boys behaved cautiously in public, afraid of comments. Or worse. Gradually their circle of comfort had increased, first the choir room, now the auditorium. So right now they're standing on the stage kissing. Not a Finn and Rachel Nationals losing type kiss, a honey I'm home type kiss. Tina hugged Mercedes and congratulated her. Too bad about Mercedes, the directors just couldn't see her as Maria. But what about Tina?

"Hey, Tina!" Artie called from the director's booth.

"Yeah, Artie." she yelled back.

"Remember that time you sang _Tonight_? A couple of years ago?" he punched a button on the control panel in front of him and music played. "Try it again."

"I don't remember the words." Why was he asking her this? Hadn't casting Maria caused enough drama?

Blaine pulled his script from his bag. "Here you are. You want to sing it solo or as a duet?"

"Duet, please." Artie said. He closed his eyes and listened. Why the hell hadn't Tina auditioned for this? Her voice was better for Maria than Rachel or Mercedes, high and clear. Blaine lost that hint of irritation he had singing with Rachel. He opened his eyes. They looked believable together. Problem solved.

Rachel walked just as the song was ending. Now what?

* * *

><p>Kurt finally had something for his NAYDA application. Senior class president didn't look too promising but this? This was golden! He looked at the local newspaper article again.<p>

"_Shelby Corcoran delivered the ultimate professional performance we've grown to expect from her_... blah, blah, blah. _Daughter Beth's lucky to hear lullabies from her every night._..blah, blah, blah. _The real surprise of the evening._.. all right, here we go!

_The real surprise of the evening was the assured performance given by two of Shelby's students from McKinley High School. Mercedes Jones had the Ella Fitzgerald/Dinah Washington/Judy Garland end of the scale covered. Her partner, Kurt Hummel, channeled a young Frank Sinatra/Perry Como/Johnny Mercer. Together and separately they sparkled. You wanted to find The Man That Got Away from Ms. Jones and slap some sense into him. Isn't It Romantic? Yes, Mr. Hummel, it was the most silky smooth romantic presentation I've ever heard. They ended with Let's Call the Whole Thing Off. For the sake of local music lovers, let's hope they never call the whole thing off, cause that would surely break our hearts. We predict great things from these two.  
><em>

* * *

><p>All of these have been recorded by many people but here's what I'm listening to<p>

A Fine Romance - Martha Tilton/Johnny Mercer

The Man That Got Away - Judy Garland

Isn't it Romantic - Johnny Mathis or Ella Fitzgerald

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off - Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong


	11. Mr Blue Sky

Another illustration of the difference in the two glee clubs – the ride to Sectionals. Rachel and Blaine sat in the front of the bus, arguing about the arrangement of the song they were singing. Blaine had agreed to her opinion about a half hour ago but Rachel wouldn't accept yes for an answer. The unceasing harping caused Blaine to angrily revert to his original position. Finally Kurt and Blaine stood up and moved to the back of the bus where Mercedes and Tim were singing about the thoroughbred of sin, or something similarly stupid. Yes, the back of the bus was getting giddy.

Finn and the rest of the old glee club were in the front of the bus, listening to music or leafing through magazines. They wouldn't have much to do since Will's team had decided on a Rachel/Blaine duet. The rest of the team would stand behind them and sway. Behind the old glee club sat six dancers from Shelby's team, they were listening to music and texting. Behind that was Shelby's team, led by Mercedes, Tina and Tim, singing "_The Evil League of Evil, is watching so beware. The grade that you receive will be your last we swear. So make the bad horse gleeful, or he'll make you his mare!"_

"So Blaine," Tim asked after another chorus of Bad Horse, "Let's hear what you guys are doing."

"You'll hear it soon enough. I don't want to over practice." Man, was he in a bad mood.

Kurt was looking at him with a concerned expression. He kissed the back of his neck and whispered something in his ear. Blaine smiled and kissed him, "Okay. Kurt's going to sing Rachel's part."

_I thought about you for a long time_  
><em>can't seem to get you off my mind<em>  
><em>I can't understand why we're living this way<em>  
><em>I found your picture today<em>  
><em>I swear I'll change my ways<em>  
><em>I just called to say I want you to come back home<em>  
><em>I just called to say I love you<em>  
><em>come back home<em>

So Schuester had finally realized having Rachel and Blaine sing sappy love songs to each other wasn't going to work. Ever since the class president thing the animosity between the two had broken out into open warfare. Kurt didn't even try to dampen it anymore, he was pissed off at Rachel too.

Of course Schuester wasn't going to let Kurt and Blaine sing a duet and of course Shelby's team wasn't going to sing Bad Horse at the competition. Got to Get You Into My Life. The Beatles by way of Earth, Wind and Fire. They had practiced this with the dancers, including Britt and Alice, and it was awesome. So awesome it would override the negative karma being generated in the front of the bus. At least that was the plan.

* * *

><p>And the plan was going perfectly until Mercedes heard familiar music coming from the stage. Could it be, no, it couldn't. Damn it, it was! Earth Wind and Fire. The Warblers were singing "September".<p>

_My thoughts are with you_  
><em>Holding hands with your heart to see you<em>  
><em>Only blue talk and love,<em>  
><em>Remember how we knew love was here to stay<em>  
><em>Now December found the love that we shared in September.<em>  
><em>Only blue talk and love,<em>  
><em>Remember the true love we share today<em>

Mercedes went backstage to watch. Their tenor, a short Asian guy, didn't have Kurt's range but he was doing just fine with the range he had. Jesus they were good, dangerously good. She felt someone squeeze her arm and looked up to see Blaine.

"Aren't they terrific?" He asked beaming with pride.

"Yeah, they're killing it tonight. I bet New Directions is in the practice room accusing you of all kinds of perfidy."

"Perfidy? Nice word, Ms. Jones."

"Well, Mr. Anderson, that's the difference between 760 and 800 on the SATs." Okay, it was obnoxious but she was damned proud of that 800 in the English portion of the exam. They watched in silence as the Warblers pulled out all the stops.

"Aren't you guys going to do Earth Wind and Fire?" Blaine said after a few minutes. "Why aren't you in a panic?"

"You know, Shelby didn't win five consecutive National championships by magic." She looked at Shelby who was currently huddled with the dancers and Tim. Tim left and walked up to them.

"Hey you with the pretty face!" he sang to Mercedes.

"Welcome to the human race! A celebration" she sang back.

"Mr. Blue Sky's up there waiting and today is the day we've waited for!" they sang together.

"We had four songs prepared." Mercedes said laughing. "Just in case something like this happened. Actually, September was one of the songs we wanted to do, but Schuester couldn't decide if he needed Kurt or not. Hah! Like that was gonna happen."

The Warblers came streaming offstage, all in their direction. There were some damned fine looking guys in that group. Why the hell hadn't Kurt sent any her way when he had the chance? They can't all be gay. If she ever got over Sam she was definitely going to have a talk with Kurt about that.

"Blaine!" the short Asian guy stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Blaine, causing a pile-up behind him.

"Wes!" he hugged him, practically lifting the shorter boy from his feet. "You nailed that! And all this time I thought it was me! You'd never know I was gone."

"Yeah, we had to settle for 11 on a scale of 1-10 instead of 12." Wes was slightly out of breath from the performance. "I'll be in the front row. Hit it out of the park. Make us proud, Blainey Boy!" They actually wished him luck, now those are friends, Mercedes thought.

* * *

><p>Half the glee club waited for the results in the green room. They agonized over every aspect of their performance and looked for nits to pick regarding Dalton. Dalton was their only competition, and the entire glee club knew it.<p>

The other half spent the time flirting with Dalton guys. They figured either the judges like old school rhythm and blues or they liked old school English rock. No use worrying about it now and when are you going to see this many good looking boys in one place? Mercedes sometimes forgot that Kurt had only been at Dalton for a few months, so much had changed in those couple of months, so he was no help in introductions. Blaine was busy catching up with Wes so he was no help either. Mercedes stayed close to Santana, if anybody could get a boy to start talking it was Santana. Unfortunately, not one of them spoke Navi.

Finally the judges came back. New Directions was going to Regionals.

* * *

><p>Bad Horse – Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog<br>Kurt and Blaine - Picture – Kid Rock/Sheryl Crow  
>Warblers - September - Earth Wind And Fire<br>New Directions group piece - Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra


	12. Where or When

For a gay guy, Kurt Hummel certainly traveled with a harem. That's the first thing to go through David Pederson's mind when Kurt showed up with a smörgåsbord of sexiness. One girl was short, dark and curvy. She was introduced as Mercedes. David liked curvy girls. The next was tall, bi-racial with wild curly hair. Alice. David wanted to get his fingers tangled in that hair. The third girl was a busty Latina. Santana. She flashed a smile and winked at him. He liked brazen girls. The fourth was a short Asian girl. Tina. His mind flashed to a restaurant he'd eaten at in Japan, the waitress were dressed as sexy anime maids. Thank god she was wearing a plain black dress or David would have been all over her. The last girl was the all-American type. Britt. An athletic blue-eyed blond. He liked that too in a girl. Hell, he liked girls period.

"Damn, Hummel, no wonder you left us if all this is at McKinley."

Kurt smiled vaguely. How in the world Kurt ended up with Blaine was the biggest mystery of all. Wes had plotted and schemed for years, literally years, to get Blaine. He'd finally gotten a room assignment with his target and then what happened? Two days later Blaine was gone. And for Hummel of all people. Luckily Sebastian showed up needing a room. Making lemon-ade out of life's lemons. Wes seemed happy with his consolation prize, damned happy. Now that he's thinking about it, exactly where was Blaine?

Mercedes looked around at David's house, hell, mansion was more like it, and wondered how rich those kids at Dalton are. Blaine didn't dress like he was rich. Kurt, he dresses expensive odd. Blaine's style was just crazy odd. But Blaine and David had arranged this and between the two of them they must know a boatload of rich people. They stood to make a couple of thousand of dollars for the anti-bullying charity Kurt and Blaine established. Sure, part of the reason was to burnish his college application, but Kurt really got into the helping part once Blaine had the idea. So where was Blaine?

"So where's Blaine?" Santana asked surveying the crowd. This would be nice, really nice. A girl could make a lot of valuable connections on a night like this.

"He's on his way. He had something to do first. Don't worry." Kurt said looking at his watch.

A night of music and dancing. That's the reason Alice and Britt were there, the dancing part. That's what Blaine's supposed to be doing and finally he's running in the front door. He seemed to know half the people in this room. His folks must be the eccentric kind of rich people you read about, or maybe Blaine just likes bow-ties.

The McKinley girls were very impressed with the quality of the Dalton boys. Currently Mercedes and Alice were being chatted up by a gorgeous black boy, with an English accent, who's the son of diplomats. Real diplomats! And he's not English, he's Welsh, like the Prince of Wales or something. He's so damned handsome, with beautiful brown eyes with golden flecks. Brown eyes with golden flecks used to be her primary requirement in a guy. So why is Mercedes thinking about a dirt poor boy with green eyes from Memphis? Green eyes that can't see the financial burden he's lifting from his family by coming back to Lima. Okay, maybe it's a stretch but that's all she can come up with.

She's losing whatever hold she had on this beautiful boy in front of them, she can tell, and Alice is interested. Somehow she always thought Alice was in love with her guitar but no, Alice is definitely interested in the diplomat's son. Mercedes has lost him, they're dancing and laughing. Dancing slow and close and it that's tinkly kind of laughter. That "Oh, you're so funny!" kind of laughter she didn't know Alice was capable of.

Oh well, it's time for her to sing anyway. Her brother and sister-in-law, Marcus and Devi, came to this fund-raiser, since it's in Columbus where they live. Looking at Marcus, well who thinks their older brother is handsome? He's just Marcus and she's been looking at him for 17 years now. Devi, on the other hand, is stunning in one of her fancy saris. What Indian women can do with several yards of fabric is amazing. She's six months pregnant but you'd never know it with the way that thing is draped. She's gliding, a peacock among the formal black dresses. Go ahead and stare, you know you want to.

"Mercy, please sing Where and When. I love that song." she asked. Marcus just smiled, more at Devi than at Mercedes. It's late, almost over but Devi really wanted this song. Mercedes sang it at their wedding so she knew it was special to them, even if Marcus is trying to be cool.

_It seems we stood and talked like this, before_  
><em>We looked at each other in the same way then <em>  
><em>But I can't remember where or when <em>  
><em>The clothes you're wearing are the clothes, you wore <em>  
><em>The smile you are smiling you were smiling then <em>  
><em>But I can't remember where or when<em>

She watched her brother and sister-in-law float across the floor along with the other couples. That's what she wanted, to be held like that, to be looked at like that, to feel as loved as Devi's feeling right now.

Marcus and Devi have stopped dancing. They're laughing and clapping. Great, now I'm hallucinating, Mercedes thought. Kurt's supposed to be singing the next verse, but it doesn't sound like him, and it's not Blaine either. I sounds like...

_Some things that happened for the first time _  
><em>Seem to be happening again <em>  
><em>And so it seems that we have met before <em>  
><em>And laughed before, and loved before <em>  
><em>But who knows where or when<em>

And singing next to her, wearing that exact same thing he'd worn when she fell in love with him at the prom, down to the bolo tie and brilliant smile, was Sam Evans.

* * *

><p>Where and When (Richard Rodgers lyrics by Lorenz Hart) - this has been recorded a lot but I'm listening to Peggy Lee (with the Benny Goodman Trio)<p> 


	13. Beach Party

Grandma Jones lived with the daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren until the day she died. Her bedroom was on the third floor, good exercise she'd said, until a hip fracture left her wheelchair bound. Her daughter Rita did the only thing she could do, she remodeled the house. Miles' office on the first floor became a bedroom. The cramped powder room became a fully accessibly bathroom.

The unusual thing about the bathroom was the curbless shower. It was designed so that a wheelchair could roll right in, the person in the wheelchair could be moved to the built in bench, take a shower and moved out. The entire room was tiled floor to ceiling and was pretty much waterproof. It was Mercedes' and Kurt's favorite place to play when they were young. In the winter they placed a game called "Beach Party" which consisted of putting on bathing suits and spraying each other with the shower hose. Then they dried off, wrapped up in blankets, sat in front of the fireplace and drank hot chocolate.

Today, Mercedes and Sam were playing a completely different game in the bathroom. Sam was pouring honey, which he thoughtfully warmed up first, on her thighs. Then he licked the honey off, only his aim was suspiciously bad. She's going to ask him if he needs glasses. Maybe in a couple of days she'll ask him about that. Right now Mercedes likes this game. A lot. As much as Sam enjoyed the maple syrup game they played right before this.

They've been playing games of all sorts for the last two days. They started playing in the bedroom but realized how much laundry they were piling up so switched to a room that was easier to hose down. Even the air-mattress on the floor is waterproof.

Her parents were visiting relatives in Trinidad and since Blaine was going on vacation to Spain with his mother Kurt was supposed to keep her company during winter break. Then Sam showed up and Mercedes dropped Kurt like a rock. Yes, that was no way to rebuild their friendship, but so what? Since Blaine decided to stay at his mother's condo and babysit her cat Mercedes was sure Kurt was missing her about as much as she was missing him. Which would be not at all.

Of course, the fun and games didn't start the minute she first saw Sam. Mercedes was technically working at that fund-raiser. Then they had to get a ride back to Lima. Kurt and Blaine chattered away in the front seat while Sam and Mercedes discreetly groped each other in the back seat. Mercedes didn't ask too many questions, she was afraid to break the spell she was probably under. One passionate good-night kiss and Sam was gone.

Mercedes watched the car drive off. If this is a dream, and she goes to sleep, when she wakes up is it still a dream or is the dream over? Finally she decided if this is real she's going to need her rest so she went to sleep.

9am the next morning and Sam's standing at her front door. Of course her mom wanted to talk. And talk. And talk. Sam's finishing the school year here. He's got a job and will be sending home money to his mom. His dad, well Sam got kind of vague on that point. He's staying at Blaine's house. Blaine's father and step-mother's house actually. Mercedes edged towards the door but her mom just wouldn't shut up.

Finally she said "Remember, Mercy, you need to be home by 2pm." At Mercedes' blank stare she added "To give us a ride to the airport? Cousin Betty's wedding?" Mrs. Jones definitely didn't like the incandescent light that instantly spread across both their faces. Mercedes hasn't looked that happy since all that 'camping' she'd done last summer.

Oh yes, Rita Jones knew all about that. She ran into Burt Hummel and mentioned how happy she was that Kurt and Mercedes were spending so much time together. Another blank stare. She'd better make time for a little talk with Mercedes before she leaves, even though she's pretty sure that horse is out of the barn, as they say. "Make it 1:30. I need to talk to you about a couple of things."

Sam showed her the guest house where he'd be staying. Yes, Blaine's dad has a guest house and yes, they had sex in that guest house. The guest house was more like Alice's converted garage bedroom with bath, not like a whole other house and Blaine's house was nowhere near as plush as David's but it was a mansion by Lima standards. Mercedes didn't really see much of the guest house because the minute Sam closed the door she started pulling down the shades and turning on the lights.

"Fast or slow?" he asked, pulling her close and getting right to the point.

"It's been awhile. Fast!" they were naked and in bed 10 seconds later. Fast, with no props. Sam was back and they had plenty of time gor games later.


	14. Like a Star

Mercedes sat backstage and watched Rachel and Blaine perform. "You're All I Need to Get By." Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Not bad, not bad at all. She smiled to herself, not bad but not good enough. Last time Shelby agreed to let Will's group perform the first song. For Regionals the two clubs are having a competition. The AV kids are taping both performances for the morning announcements. Then the homeroom teachers will be collecting ballots to see who will represent the school, hoping to eliminate that prom queen nonsense.

She smiled graciously at Blaine and even hugged Rachel as they walked offstage. She didn't need to be petty anymore, that was all behind her. She walked on stage with Tim. He sat down on a stool and started playing his guitar while Mercedes sang.

_Just like a star across my sky,_  
><em>Just like an angel off the page,<em>  
><em>You have appeared to my life,<em>  
><em>Feel like I'll never be the same,<em>  
><em>Just like a song in my heart,<em>  
><em>Just like oil on my hands,<em>  
><em>Oh...<br>To love you_

_Still I wonder why it is,_  
><em>I don't argue like this,<em>  
><em>With anyone but you,<em>  
><em>We do it all the time,<em>  
><em>Blowing out my mind,<em>

The curtain behind her parted and Sam walked on-stage. Kurt, Blaine and Tina had managed to keep it secret that Sam was back. If she'd been looking at Finn she would have seen his furious expression. She wasn't looking at Finn.

_You've got this look I can't describe,_  
><em>You make me feel like I'm alive,<em>  
><em>When everything else is au fait,<em>  
><em>Without a doubt you're on my side,<em>  
><em>Heaven has been away too long,<em>  
><em>Can't find the words to write this song,<em>  
><em>Oh...<em>  
><em>Your love,<em>

_Still I wonder why it is,_  
><em>I don't argue like this,<em>  
><em>With anyone but you,<em>  
><em>We do it all the time,<em>  
><em>Blowing out my mind,<em>

The stage went almost completely dark, with just a spot light on Sam and Mercedes as they sang, practically whispered, the next verse together as Tim supplied the bare minimum of accompaniment.

_Now I have come to understand the way it is,_  
><em>It's not a secret anymore,<em>  
><em>'cause we've been through that before,<em>  
><em>From tonight I know that you're the only one.<em>  
><em>I've been confused and in the dark,<em>  
><em>Now I understand,<em>

The lights brightened again, and the orchestra and the background singers kicked in.

_I wonder why it is,_  
><em>I don't argue like this,<em>  
><em>With anyone but you,<em>  
><em>I wonder why it is,<em>  
><em>I won't let my guard down,<em>  
><em>For anyone but you<em>  
><em>We do it all the time,<em>  
><em>Blowing out my mind,<em>

She didn't really care if they won or not, she knew she had to sing this with Sam, for Sam. Whether anybody else appreciated it was irrelevant.

* * *

><p>When Sam came back they'd gorged themselves on each other. He was the feast after a long famine. Now, they can finally talk again, they don't feel the need to immediately have sex the second they're alone. Today Mercedes is laying in his bed doing history homework and Sam is reading his English assignment. A week ago "Mercedes" and "bed" in the same sentence would have driven him into a frenzy. Sure, today's he's stroking her breasts but it's just to feel her skin in his hands, not serious foreplay. Later, there would be time for that later.<p>

"Sam," she said suddenly. "What happened in Memphis?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're different. More impatient. Not as easygoing."

"Am I treating you badly?" he tried to think of what he might have done to upset her. Nothing came to mind but he'd have to pay more attention in the future.

"No, not to me. It's just at school, sometimes you seem so angry."

"Oh." He pulled her close to him. "When I went back it was to a different, tougher school in Memphis. Guys here think they're so scary. They're nothing compared to down there. You know what I realized in Memphis? This world is full of bull-shit. Oceans and oceans of it. An unlimited supply. And what's rare is love, kindness and beauty. I'm tried of wasting my time on bull-shit and almost everybody at school is full of it. You and me, we wasted so much time last year, hiding, making sure our masks were in place. Then, when we finally found each other we thought we'd have all the time in the world. Only we didn't. I guess that's what changed. Every hour away from you is an hour wasted. I don't want to waste it on stupid stuff. I know that now."

"Did they hurt you down there?" she asked stoking his hair, staring into his emerald eyes. "I'd have to go down there and hurt them even worse."

"No, not really. High school is like one of those nature documentaries. The predators prey on the weak. You might have a take a few hits but you have to let them know you won't be easy prey. They figure it out pretty quickly and move on. Anyway, I'm back and that's all that matters." he kissed her again. "As long as I'm withing kissing distance of you everything's au fait." he laughed. Au Fait. He'd never heard that expression before. French! Who knew?

There was a knock on the guest house door, Blaine asking "You guys going to Alice's birthday party?" He was waving a flyer showing a pair of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots. "A my name is Alice and I'm having a birthday party! B my name is Ben and I'm having a birthday party! 8 till we get sick of looking at you. McKenna's Coffee House."

* * *

><p><strong>Like A Star -<strong>** Corinne Bailey Rae **


	15. A Broken Wing

"I still don't get why there's two glee clubs." Sam said, trying to be heard over the loud music at the birthday party.

Blaine shook his head and signaled Sam to follow him to the glassed-in porch of McKenna's coffee house, where it was quieter.

"Two glee clubs? There's been two clubs for a while now, the way I see it. A club with happy members, the ones that get leads, and a club with unhappy members, the ones that don't. Take Mercedes for instance. Great singer, never gonna get a lead from Schuester. You and Quinn looked good at Sectionals but is Quinn a better singer than Mercedes? Get real! So why was Quinn standing on stage and Mercedes wasn't? Kurt, same thing. Even Tina, you would think she's got the right look. Hey, did Mercedes tell you how Tina left New Directions?"

* * *

><p>Finn Hudson had never thought of Mercedes as the sneaky type. He'd never thought of her as anything other than Aretha, to tell you the truth. Supposedly she and Kurt were besties but he'd seen no evidence of that since Kurt became his brother. In any case, here she was single-handedly stripping the glee club of female members.<p>

Okay, she did seem kinda sick that day Schue kept pushing her to do that stupid dance so it's no wonder she quit. This is supposed to be a fun after-school activity after all. She must be having fun at Shelby's cause her dancing was just fine the other day. But first she recruits Santana and Britt, now she's sitting in the cafeteria laughing up a storm with Tina, the next victim on her list.

Finn glared at Tina from across the room and the girl stopped laughing. Mercedes looked up, smiled at Finn, and continued her conversation. Tina started laughing again. Shit! Is she singing too? Tina never sings, at least not anymore. She's a crier, everybody knows that. But she's singing for Mercedes. What is that, some kind of audition?

* * *

><p>"So, Tina." Finn started casually, sitting down next to her in the library.<p>

"Yes?" Tina was surprised Finn was talking to her, he doesn't usually.

"I just wondered if Mercedes is trying to recruit you."

"No, why would you think that?"

"I saw the two of your together earlier." He paused to let that sink in.

"And..."

"And I wanted to be sure that you're loyal to the club."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you're the one talking to the enemy."

"Enemy?" Has Finn lost his mind? Doesn't she sit there quietly like she should? Is her outside life their business too?

"You know what I mean." Finn continued.

"Not really. If Mercedes is supposed to be my enemy I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Listen, just be careful around her, okay?"

Tina watched Finn walk away. Weird, that was weird. And glee club was weird too. Tina sat in the back row, daydreaming like she usually did, but every time she looked up Finn and Rachel were staring at her. "What's your problem?" she finally asked. Shocked silence. "Did I do something in particular or is it National Stare at an Asian day?" the guitar player, who was Asian, laughed softly. Mike, who's also Asian, just stared at her.

"Mr. Schuester" Rachel said primly, "Tina has been spending a lot of time with Mercedes lately. Finn and I just want to be sure nothing's going on."

"What would be going on?" Tina asked. Artie looked from Tina to Rachel. This was confusing.

"I don't know. You tell me." Finn said. "I saw you guys recording something together."

Blaine sighed loudly. He could see where this was headed. Goodbye Tina! Kurt put his hand over Blaine's. Was that supposed to be a warning? If it was he ignored it. "Can we just get back to whatever it is we were doing a few minutes ago?" Blaine asked.

"No, Blaine!" Rachel and Finn said at the same time.

"Tina, do you have anything to say?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"You want to hear what I sang? Jesus!" she stalked to the front of the room. "Brad, may I use the piano?" The pianist stood up. Blaine could tell by the look on her face this was Tina's farewell performance.

_Well I see them every night in tight blue jeans-_  
><em>In the pages of a blue boy magazine<em>  
><em>Hey I've been thinking of a new sensation<em>  
><em>I'm picking up-good vibration-<em>  
><em>Ooh-she bop-<em>

_Do I wanna go out with a lion's roar_  
><em>Huh, yea, I wanna go south n get me some more<em>  
><em>Hey, they say that a stitch in time saves nine<em>  
><em>They say I better stop-or I'll go blind<em>  
><em>Ooh-she bop-she bop<em>

Schuester had never heard the song performed this way, like a torchy ballad instead of bouncy pop, so Tina was well into it before he recognized what she was singing.

_She bop-he bop-a-we bop_  
><em>I bop-you bop-a-they bop<em>  
><em>Be bop-be bop-a-lu-bop,<em>  
><em>I hope He will understand<em>  
><em>She bop-he bop-a-we bop<em>  
><em>I bop-you bop-a-they bop<em>  
><em>Be bop-be bop-a-lu-she bop,<em>  
><em>Oo-oo-she-do-she bop-she bop<em>

By this time even Rachel was paying attention to her. Fine, we sing about drunken sex all the time. Singing about masturbation's as good a swan song as any Tina thought.

_They say I better get a chaperone_  
><em>Because I can't stop messin' with the danger zone<em>  
><em>No, I won't worry, and I won't fret-<em>  
><em>Ain't no law against it yet-<em>  
><em>Ooh-she bop-she bop-<em>

She looked at an embarrassed Mr. Schuester. "Now, do you also need to know why that particular song?"

"No thank you Tina, that's not necessary."

Tina walked back to her seat, picked up her books and walked out without saying another word.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, Tina. I didn't mean to get you in trouble." Mercedes said over coffee at McKenna's. "Alice told me what happened. Why didn't you sing something else?<em> She Bop<em> was just a joke for Sam, when he asked me how I'm getting along without him. Shit, now you're in trouble. Once Schue's mind is made up..."

"I miss Glee. Well Artie and Kurt, anyway. I miss them." She interrupted. Tina didn't care to discuss Mr. Schuester right now.

"Not Mike?"

"Mike's getting as far away from Lima as he can. I might as well get used to that sooner rather than later."

"Tell me, do you miss the singing or the people?"

"Hell, I don't get the chance to sing with all those microphone hogs. I miss the people. We used to all be friends, it was fun. Now..." she thought for a few minutes. "Everybody's just so frustrated. It's like he doesn't think any of us can sing except Blaine and Rachel. And this new kid, Rory? Kurt's range without Kurt's distracting mannerisms. That's a bad thing for Kurt. The rest of us, we might as well be as bad as Sugar for all the chances of us getting a lead at a competition."

"You heard Sugar sing_ Bad Reputation_ on the Troubletone News. She's not terrible, you just have to choose material for her carefully. She can't do soft and subtle. Yelling she's good at. You let her yell, you turn up the guitars, everybody's happy. I don't care about morning announcements, I just want to sing lead at a competition." She stared at her cup of coffee.

"I'm not supposed to poach, Shelby told me not to, but you know those morning announcements she sponsors, the TroubleTone News? One reason she does them is to let Sugar have fun and for Tim to get practice. Other reason, she figures people watch Sugar and think "Hell, I can do better than that!" Anyway, She wouldn't mind if you did one. You can vent if you want, that's why I sang _King of Anything_. I hope Capt. Clueless got the message."

* * *

><p>Blaine watched the morning announcements on Monday and there, predictable as the sun rising in the east, was Tina. She was belting out a country tune. The country part was a surprise but that she joined the TroubleTones? Well, Finn and Rachel had practically called her a spy and she never gets to sing anyway. Why should she stay?<p>

_She loved him like he was_  
><em>The last man on Earth<em>  
><em>Gave him everything she ever had<em>  
><em>He'd break her spirit down<em>  
><em>Then come lovin' up on her<em>  
><em>Give a little, then take it back<em>

_She'd tell him about her dreams_  
><em>He'd just shoot 'em down<em>  
><em>Lord he loved to make her cry<em>  
><em>You're crazy for believin'<em>  
><em>You'll ever leave the ground<em>  
><em>He said, Only angels know how to fly<em>

_And with a broken wing_  
><em>She still sings<em>  
><em>She keeps an eye on the sky<em>  
><em>With a broken wing<em>  
><em>She carries her dreams<em>  
><em>Man you ought to see her fly<em>

"Tired of listening to people shoot down your dreams? There's room for you in the TroubleTones."

Goodbye Tina.

* * *

><p>She Bop (Acoustic version) - Cyndi Lauper<p>

A Broken Wing – Martina McBride


	16. B My Name is Ben

Sam Evans leaned against the wall and watched his girlfriend dance. This was only the second party they'd been at together, the last one was Rachel's party and they weren't dating then. Back then Mercedes was invisible to him. Alice and Ben's birthday party was a lot different than Rachel's. For one thing, Sam didn't know that many people here. Brittney, Artie, Tina, Kurt and Blaine, whom he barely knew, were about it. He'd never met Alice, Ben or Tim. They were friends of Mercedes, people she started hanging out with after he left. Right now Mercedes was dancing with a kid who showed up with Brittney. They were dancing to a medium tempo song. The kid's hand was on her back. His hand drifted south. Mercedes moved it north. His hand drifted south again. Sam was about to head over and take care of the guy when Mercedes yanked his arm so hard Sam swore he heard his shoulder pop out of the socket from across the room. She dragged the kid across the room.

"Sam Evans, meet Rory Flanagan. Rory, watch this!" she wrapped her arms around Sam's neck and kissed him passionately. It was a kiss that would melt mere mortals, but Sam had been exposed to this before. It was a 8 and he'd survived a 10. He grabbed her ass and pulled her close to him. After a few minutes she pulled away. She stared into his eyes for a few seconds and then remembered Rory was standing behind her.

She turned back to Rory. "The point, Rory, is.. .Sam here." she drew an imaginary circle around Sam's smiling face "is the only person allowed to do that. Now, if you want to be my friend you're going to need to keep your hands to yourself. I hate repeating myself so do we have an understanding?"

"Sorry!" Rory mumbled.

"No prob. Let's finish this dance."

_Later that same night_

"Mr. Schuester, he's all Kumbaya, but really-"Sam said.

"What does that mean, all kumbaya?" Rory interrupted.

"Kumbaya? He talks like we're all one big happy family, but really we're a family with favorite kids and ignored kids. Where the kids start fighting the minute the parent's back is turned. Hell, we fight in front of the parents and they don't do anything about it."

Rory said something in Na'vi. Oh my god! Mercedes thought. He speaks Na'vi! Rory, Sam and Ianto, Alice's new boyfriend from Dalton, aka the Prince of Wales behind his back because he's the son of a Welsh diplomat, are speaking Na'vi. Mercedes immediately tuned out and started eavesdropping on the conversation at the next table between Alice, Tim, Ben, Kurt and Blaine. Tim and Ben found the story hysterically funny. Alice and Kurt were trying not to laugh. Blaine looked pissed off.

"Rat boy, chill!" Tim was saying. "We've all heard this story before!"

"Not this version." Kurt said.

"I'm sure Ms. Jones hasn't heard either version." Blaine said, noticing the girl leaning backwards.

"Sorry, but 'rat boy' got my attention. Last nickname in the world I would have picked for you."

"Well," Ben began "It was the year I went to summer camp. We couldn't afford it, god it was expensive and Alice was dancing us out of house and home. Tap shoes are expensive and her feet kept growing. And this place, we'd just bought this place and it was a money pit. We lived on leftovers."

"You sound a lot like your mom, you know that?" Tim said.

"Hush! So my mom, you never met my mom" he said to Blaine and Kurt "but she's the black woman who sometimes works behind the counter. When she's here the college kids behave as opposed to the way they act when my dad's here. She teaches philosophy over at the college so they don't want to get into a discussion with her. Don't get her started about Plato's allegory of the cave! You'll regret it. Anyway, this was before she graduated and she found out about a summer camp scholarship and went down to apply for it. She always leaves the race block empty, but hell, there's a black woman sitting there applying for her son. I bet they got a shock when they saw me." Ben looked like a fairly average boy, a fairly average white boy with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Remember Tim, that summer Alice decided to stop dancing and start playing the guitar. Like she was interested in the guitar!" he said with a laugh.

"Don't go there!" Tim said warningly. Alice punched Ben lightly on the arm.

"Well," he backed off. "That's another fascinating story you'll have to get from Miss Alice."

"Which you never will." she said.

"Back to my story. I'm at fancy-pants summer camp, working on my social skills, which evidently were quite lacking. And this kid keeps following me around, staring at me. So. There was this one girl who had a reputation for being easy, and I'm all over her. And there we were, in the woods, going at it hot and heavy and I look up and who do I see? Rat boy! Why I'm calling him him rat boy comes in later. So I said "What's your problem, asshole?"

"Nothing. Sorry, didn't see you there." he said.

"Then why is it I've been bumping into you every time I turn around?"

"So you own the woods?" he got all smart-ass about it which was odd because he hadn't spoken two words to me before this.

"I'm out of here while you two lovebirds bicker." the girl said. Then she left. I chased her.

Then, two days later that same asshole kid starts singing at the camp talent show. Anybody want to guess what he sang? Any guesses?"

"Awwww, I love that song!" Tim started singing "I used to say, I and me, now it's us, now it's we."

"Yeah, right! I always hated that song. Still do. Mom used to sing it all the time. That and Alice's Restaurant. Anyway I asked around and found out his name was Blaine. Sure enough, here's that same Blaine. I should have guessed it, how many Blaines are there?"

"Oh, Blaine" Kurt said laughing and rubbing his arm, "It was years ago and you were right, he was gay!"

"I didn't know it at the time." Ben said.

"And it wouldn't have crossed you mind if it hadn't been for Blaine." Kurt said.

"Sooner or later it would have crossed my mind." He kissed Tim. "Especially considering what was going on back home."

Alice punched him in the arm again, harder this time. "Didn't we just discuss this?"

"Isn't the Prince of Wales somewhere looking for you?" he said rubbing his arm. "Black and Irish, a combination of the two most evil tempered races of women in the world." He turned his attention to Blaine. "But here's the favor Blaine did do for me. He made me think. I mean, nobody every stops and thinks, how do I know I'm straight? What does that mean, what's my life going to be like? How do I know if the person I like is straight too? How do I find out without getting beat up? Those dreams I've been having, maybe that's normal for me. Sure I was mad at first, but then I started wondering. Like, how could he have the nerve to do that, in front of so many people? I don't know, gay wasn't new to me, the idea that I might be was. Course by that time I did all that thinking I was back home. Then, well I kissed a boy and I liked it! Still do."

* * *

><p>It was late, time to wrap this party up and Tim and Alice had played at so many parties they knew exactly how to clear a room, it's time for sexy music! They put on Robin Thicke's Sex Therapy, they put on Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing, they put on Ohio Player's Sweet Sticky Thing. If you still didn't know it was time to go home with you loved one they gave you the final signal. They turned on the lights and said "Get Out!" Evidently the hosts had plans for later tonight.<p>

* * *

><p>Ben – Michael Jackson. Ben was a tender love song from a boy to a rat. The movie was about a pack of rats, and not your cute Disney animated rats, either. The real, live "I ain't going in that basement again!" type rat.<p> 


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